Muggle Things
by RavieSnake
Summary: After a chance encounter with Hermione on a trampoline, Draco finds himself wondering how much more she can teach him about Muggle things. EWE.
1. A Trampoline

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters/concepts from it. I make no money from the writing/publishing of this story.**

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Draco Malfoy stood in the middle of the garishly lit living room and looked out over the party goers with a frown. He glanced up at a clock on the wall and his scowl deepened. His eyes returned to searching the crowd and found the host of the party.

He wove his way toward her and tapped her on the shoulder. "Have you seen Astoria!?" he shouted over the din of the loud hip-hop music that was blaring.

The host waved her hand impatiently in Draco's general direction without breaking her liplock on the enthusiastic man that was in front of her.

Draco huffed and rolled his eyes as he turned away from them to try another patron.

"Has anyone seen Astoria!?" he called out, his anger mounting at how foolish he felt at having misplaced his fiancée.

So involved in their own frivolity, no one paid him any attention. With another irritated huff, Draco snatched a bottle of booze from the hand of a random passing guest and stalked out to the back garden of the property.

"Fucking, stupid Muggle party," he groused as he trudged across the large lawn. "Honestly...I use the loo for two minutes and she disappears."

He took several large swigs of the cheap liquor in his hand as he made his way to a dark, quiet-looking back corner of the garden and away from the loud chaos of the party. He plopped down on the ground beside a large, strange apparatus set up there. He didn't really bother looking at it.

"Weirdo Muggle things," he mumbled to himself as he leaned against one of the apparatus's metal legs. He furrowed his brow at the brightly lit house full of people and sighed.

He was at a Muggle party. At a Muggle house. In a Muggle neighborhood. Listening to obnoxious Muggle music. Drinking terrible Muggle booze. Pouting to himself as he leaned against a foreign Muggle thing while his fiancée was lost in a crowd of simple Muggle people.

"Why in the bloody hell did I let Astoria talk me into this?" he questioned himself out loud.

"Because you wanted to make her happy?"

Draco startled at the quiet female voice that floated down to him from over the apparatus and he spilled a portion of his pilfered drink down the front of his shirt.

"Damn it all," he cursed as he brushed at the wet spot and set down the bottle. He turned and looked upward. "Do you take delight in scaring the wits out of people, whoever you are?"

A small laugh answered him and he stood up.

"Who do... oh Merlin's saggy arse," Draco said as he recognized the girl lying in the center of the bizarre circular structure. "What the hell are you doing here, Granger?" he demanded as he watched Hermione Granger fold her hands behind her head to gaze skyward.

"Nice to see you too, Malfoy. What's it been? Five years?" she said pleasantly, eyes still to the stars above and face glowing in the bright moonlight.

"Six," Draco said coolly. "Are you stalking me?"

"You'd never have known if I was," Hermione replied evenly as she finally turned her face to him. "Never thought I'd see you again. Certainly not at a Muggle party of all places."

"This was not my idea," he said sulkily. "And I'd have been quite content to have never seen you again if it's all the same."

Hermione laughed. "Still the charmer."

"Why are you here?" Draco asked again.

Hermione shrugged where she laid. "I am here because I was invited...well...I'm at this party because I was invited. I'm out here lying on this trampoline because I've been reminded that I don't belong."

Draco frowned a little. "Trampleen?" he asked, steadfastly avoiding whatever other nonsense she was trying to bring up. Hermione sat up and her sullen expression lifted a tad.

"You've never seen a trampoline?" she asked with a mean little smirk.

"I'm sorry, I've not made a habit of familiarizing myself with useless Muggle equipment," he said with a defensive sneer. Hermione simply laughed again.

"From what I've heard, you don't familiarize yourself with a whole lot of anything beyond what's inside your Manor."

"I like things quiet," Draco replied with an annoyed glance back at the house. He wrinkled his nose a bit. "Can I expect the joy of running into the Weasel here as well?"

Hermione's shoulders slumped ever so slightly. "No. We don't see much of each other anymore," she said quietly.

"Potter?" Draco asked, looking down and brushing at the wet stain on his shirt again.

"I'm not here with anyone you'd know," Hermione said as she shifted to kneel on the trampoline. Draco looked up at her as she did so and raised a curious eyebrow at the way the entire surface beneath her dipped and sprung back up as she moved.

"What is this tramoline?" Draco asked, eyeing the edge of the circular base warily.

Hermione gave him a small smile. "Trampoline. It's something Muggles do for fun. You jump on it."

"Jumping for fun?" Draco asked incredulously.

"You don't think jumping is fun?"

Draco scoffed at her question. "I've only ever jumped when required."

"And mostly through metaphorical hoops?" Hermione said with a tilt of her head. Draco narrowed his eyes.

"Still like to sound swotty with large words, I see."

"I used a large word?" Hermione asked innocently as she steadied herself on the unstable mesh of the trampoline with her hands and got to her feet. Draco turned back to frown at the house.

"Damn it, where is that woman?"

"Congratulations on your engagement, by the way," Hermione said lightly. Draco looked back up at her and his eyes went wide as she held out her arms to balance and then jumped. She sprung high from the surface and came back down only to rocket back up higher.

"Jesus, Granger! Get the fuck down from there! Are you daft?"

"Worried I'll get hurt?" she asked idly as she bounced on her bare feet. "And here I thought you never cared."

Draco shook his head with an irritated growl. "Just…will you get down? I'd prefer not to be found at the scene of a famous war heroine's death when you break your stupid neck, thank you. Plus you're making me dizzy."

"I'm not a heroine. And I think you'd enjoy this," Hermione said simply as she continued to jump. Draco looked slightly queasy and shook his head.

"There is no fucking way I'd get on this death trap," he said as he backed a step away at the sight of the springs straining around the edge of the trampoline each time Hermione landed.

"Still a coward too then?" she taunted. "Some things never change I suppose."

Draco gave her a cold steely glare. "And you still think that blindly plunging one's self into danger without question is the only thing that equates to bravery. Excuse me…" He started to walk away.

"I'm sorry," Hermione called out suddenly, halting her legs to bob to a stop. Draco stopped midstride and turned back to her.

"What?"

Hermione pursed her lips and gave him a quick scrutinizing look. "I'm…I'm sorry I called you a coward. That wasn't fair of me."

Draco inhaled deeply and stepped back up to the trampoline. He looked up at her silently for a moment.

"Not the worst thing I've been called, I assure you," he said quietly as he leaned forward on the trampoline's edge.

"Nor I," Hermione said with a distant gaze at the ground. Draco frowned with a resigned sigh and after a long minute began to pull himself up onto the trampoline.

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked surprised as she snapped her attention back to him.

"You said I'd enjoy this and I'm having a shit night so…show me what the bloody hell to do before I change my mind," he blurted out in a nervous rush as he struggled to get over the edge. Hermione gave him an uncertain look, but offered out her hand for him to take.

"I'm not quite that out of shape, Granger," he said with a hesitant glance at her hand, "I think I can still manage to lift my own legs." He hoisted himself the rest of the way onto the trampoline without help.

"Afraid of catching my Mudblood cooties?" Hermione teased as she let her hand fall back to her side.

"Don't say that word," Draco said seriously, "and no. The only thing I'm sure to catch for being with you is a whole mess of shit from Astoria. But seeing as how I'm going to give her hell for abandoning me at a Muggle party, I think we'll be even."

"Never thought I'd live to see the day when Draco Malfoy would denounce the use of his favorite racial slur," Hermione said, making sure to keep her voice friendly.

"Yes, well, I never thought I'd be at a Muggle party, standing on a tramampoline at eleven at night with Potter's golden girl either. Tonight's just a whole lot of peculiar. Now are you going to show me what to do or what?" he said as he took a few wobbly steps into the center of the trampoline.

Hermione gave him a crooked smile as she watched him inspect the springy plane beneath himself by pressing a foot tentatively into it.

"First, take off your shoes," Hermione said. Draco raised an eyebrow at her, but unsteadily toed off his shoes and kicked them over the edge. "Now you simply jump," she continued. "Just try to keep away from the edges so you don't accidentally jump off, and to start I would do small jumps. Sometimes these things can propel you quite high if you go too hard."

Draco gave her an uneasy look. "Show me?"

Hermione nodded. "Small jumps to start," she said again, taking a small hop to begin a steady bounce where she stood. Draco twisted his lip anxiously as he studied her form. "Go on," Hermione encouraged.

Draco sucked in a deep breath and then held out his arms. He took a tiny hop and a huge grin spread across his face when he bounced successfully.

"Keep going," Hermione smiled back as she increased the force of her jumps. With obvious caution, Draco slowly began to allow himself to bounce a little higher.

"Well, what do you think?" Hermione asked as she watched him wave his arms a bit to keep steady as he landed each jump.

"I think Muggles are either certifiably insane," Draco answered with a laugh, "or complete fucking geniuses. At this point I can't be sure."

"Then you need to jump higher," Hermione laughed back as she coiled her thigh muscles tightly and rocketed upward. Draco's knees buckled as he hit a bad bounce and he braced himself on all fours as he was jostled when Hermione landed and shot up again. He tried to get up, but found it nearly impossible to do so as Hermione continued to send the tight mesh of the trampoline dipping and springing with her movements.

"Will you stop?" Draco called desperately, cringing slightly at the screechy squeaking of the springs all around them. Hermione slowed to a stop.

"Sorry," she said as she looked down at him. She stepped up to him and offered out her hand again. Draco glanced up at her and then looked guardedly at the hand. He swiveled his head around to look about the lawn as if to see if anyone was watching and then tentatively reached up and took it. He allowed Hermione to help pull him to his feet and then went to pull his hand away. Hermione clasped it tighter.

"It might be easier if we jump together," Hermione suggested, holding out her other hand to him. Draco tensed a bit uncomfortably.

"This seems inappropriate," he said with another glance around the garden, "I don't think…"

"We are only jumping," Hermione reassured, "Astoria is more than welcome to join us if she comes out here."

Draco shifted awkwardly as he continued to stare out over the lawn uncertainly. "Or you can get down if you feel uncomfortable," Hermione offered, loosening her grip on his clammy hand. "Would you like me to help you find Astoria?"

Draco snapped his attention back to her and shook his head slightly. He retightened their grip and took her other hand.

"Show me how to jump," he said determinedly. Hermione gave him a weak smile and nodded.

"Just follow my lead," she said as she began to bounce slightly. Draco looked down to watch her legs and mimicked her movement. His hands gripped hers a little tighter with each increasing jump and Hermione squeezed his fingers.

"Try to relax," she said. "I won't let you get hurt."

Draco looked her in the face at that. "Why are you doing this with me?" he asked seriously as he jumped in time with her. Hermione shrugged a little.

"You're the only person I know here….well, besides the person who brought me."

"And who was that?" Draco asked.

Hermione's expression hardened a bit. "His name is Bryce."

"Should I be worried of what this Bryce will try to do to me if he finds us holding hands and jumping together on a trampampoline?"

"No. He made it quite clear that he no longer cares what I do, thank you," Hermione answered shortly. "If you'd like to meet him, he's probably still in the house. Just look for the guy in the green shirt with his tongue down Marissa's throat."

Draco furrowed his brow back at the house. "I saw him," he said quietly, recalling the sight of the party's host mauling a green-shirted man.

"So who do you know here?" Hermione asked, eager to change the subject. Draco cleared his throat.

"Marissa is one of Astoria's best friends," he replied uneasily. Hermione made a surprised face.

"The future Mrs. Malfoy is best friends with a Muggle?"

Draco laughed as they jumped a little higher. "Fuck me, right?" He shook his head. "Found a lovely pureblood girl to make mummy and daddy proud and she ends up being a Muggle lover."

"So you still buy into that blood status rubbish?" Hermione asked casually.

"My parents do, but I should think the fact that I'm at a Muggle party, holding hands with you would be proof enough that I don't," he answered with a smirk. "You're getting thick in your old age, Granger."

Hermione shook her head at him. "I'm less than a year older than you."

"Still older," he teased. They both went quiet then with only the squeak of the springs and the distant thumping bass of the music in the house breaking the silence of the night air around them.

"Then…why did you say you'd have been content to never see me again?" Hermione almost whispered after a time. Draco swallowed hard and looked at Hermione's exposed left forearm.

"The nightmares are enough," he said flatly. Hermione followed his gaze to the scars on her arm.

"I see," she whispered back. She started to slow her bouncing, but Draco pulled at her hands.

"I think I want to go higher," he said firmly. Without speaking, Hermione looked him in the eyes and added the extra movement to her jumps to go higher. Draco kept their eye contact as he copied her and after a moment they were both being thrust high in the air by the trampoline's taut surface after each landing. After a few minutes, Draco gave a final squeeze to Hermione's hands and released her. Looking decidedly more confident he vaulted himself ever higher.

"I am so buying one of these," he commented as he sprung skyward.

"So Muggles are geniuses, then?" Hermione smirked at him.

"When it comes to jumping for fun they are," he answered, allowing himself to start jumping around the trampoline more freely. Hermione laughed and began to leap around as well. They were soon both laughing and trying to out do one another with the height of their jumps.

"Harry is never going to believe me when I tell him about this," Hermione grinned as she pushed off of Draco after falling into him and beginning a new jump.

"I thought you said you don't see him much anymore?" Draco replied as he took a small breather and unashamedly admired Hermione's brown curls bouncing wildly about her head.

"I said I don't see much of Ron anymore. Harry and I still see each other quite often. He meets me for lunch most days."

"Ah," Draco said, "Makes sense what with you both working at the Ministry."

"Indeed," Hermione said lazily. "So, what's it like not having to work for a living?"

"Oh, I keep busy enough," Draco smiled back.

"With Astoria?" she asked playfully. Draco's smile faltered a bit and he glanced back at the house.

"When she's around," he said half-heartedly. "I …"

There was a sudden loud rustling from the tall shrubs near the trampoline and Draco fell silent while Hermione halted to a stop. They both looked curiously at the large shaking plant until two people ungracefully tumbled out of it.

"John! You prat!" Astoria shrieked gleefully as she rolled over on the ground beneath the man that had fallen out from the other side of the shrub with her. "I told you there wasn't a fence behind it."

"Worked out better this way," John growled as he leaned down and captured Astoria's lips in a hungry kiss.

"What the fuck!?"

John and Astoria both startled apart at the sound of Draco's furious voice.

"Dra…Draco!" Astoria cried, her eyes comically wide at the sight of him lowering himself off the trampoline. "I…I didn't know you were out here."

"Clearly," Draco snarled coldly with a glare at the man called John as he and Astoria both got to their feet.

Hermione had quickly sat and shrunk far back on the trampoline. She watched silently as John puffed out his chest and gave Draco a condescending smile.

"Draco? What the hell kind of a name is that?" he laughed. Hermione cringed to herself as Draco looked momentarily like he'd been slapped in the face before giving John one of the scariest scowls she'd ever seen.

"This is that loser boyfriend you were telling me about?" John asked, ignoring Draco's look and turning to Astoria.

"Fiancé," Draco corrected.

"Like it matters," John said, looking Draco up and down with a sniff.

"Give me my ring," Draco snapped, looking to Astoria. Even in the moonlight, she paled and clutched her left hand protectively in her right.

"Draco…" she pleaded, "I…I don't…"

"My. Ring."

"Please don't do this," Astoria begged in a panic, her fingers trembling as she pulled the large diamond ring from her left hand. Tears began to run down her smooth face. "This…he means nothing, Draco. Draco…I love…"

Her words were cut short when Draco reached forward and snatched the ring roughly from her as she held it out. He pocketed it and turned on his heel without a word.

"Draco, please," Astoria called out as Draco marched past the trampoline, bent over quickly to grab up his shoes and then walked off into the dark without a look back at anyone.

Hermione watched him go sadly as she hugged her knees at the edge of the trampoline. When he was out of sight she turned to look back at Astoria and John. They muttered angrily to one another for a moment before both starting back up toward the house.

A loud crack echoed in the night and Hermione looked back over her shoulder in the direction that Draco had gone. With a heavy sigh, she glanced back at the house and then climbed down and off of the trampoline. She brushed at her jeans and then picked up her sandals that were lying nearby in the grass before slinking into the shrubs and turning on the spot to create her own echoing crack as she apparated home.


	2. Money

_Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures: Being Division_

Draco read the plaque on the reception desk as he stepped up to it. He glanced around at the empty waiting area before turning his attention to the bedraggled old witch behind the desk. The witch paid him no attention as she perused a _Witch Weekly_ magazine and snapped loudly at a piece of gum.

Draco cleared his throat. The witch simply turned a page.

"Pardon me?"

The witch glanced up at him briefly and looked back down at her page. "Can I _help_ you?" she asked curtly.

Draco furrowed his brow at her rudeness. "I'm looking for Miss Granger's office," he said coolly.

The woman set down her magazine and narrowed her eyes at him. She looked him up and down before jabbing a thumb over her shoulder in the direction of a long hall to the left of the desk.

"Down the hall. Third door on the left," she answered, still smacking her gum.

"You've been most helpful, thank you," Draco said dryly. The witch merely rolled her eyes and went back to her magazine as he started down the hall. He walked slowly down the dimly lit hall and then stopped before the third door and read another small plaque.

 _S.P.E.W. Director: Hermione Granger_

With a deep breath, Draco knocked on the door. When he heard a faint 'come in' he opened the door and peered inside to see Hermione bent over a desk scribbling at a parchment with a Muggle pen. Draco smirked at her writing utensil and then stepped inside and pulled the door closed behind him. Hermione raised a finger without looking up.

"I'm almost done, Harry. I just want to finish this report and then we can head out if you like," she said.

"It's not Harry," Draco said. Hermione snapped her face up from her parchment to look at him. Her eyes widened and Draco reached for the door handle. "I'm sorry I intruded. You've obviously got plans. I'll just…"

"No," Hermione interrupted, giving him a small smile, "Please, have a seat." She motioned to a chair in front of her desk.

"But you're expecting…" Draco started, but Hermione shook her head at him.

"I so rarely get visitors here. I merely assumed you were Harry looking for an early lunch. You're not interrupting any plans."

Draco silently nodded as he went to the chair and sat.

"May I get you anything to drink? Tea? Water?" Hermione offered politely. Draco simply shook his head as he allowed himself to look about Hermione's small office. She waited patiently for him to return his attention to her and when he was still eyeing her office furniture a minute later she spoke again.

"Um…so was there something the S.P.E.W. can do for you today, Malfoy?"

Draco shook his head again as he casually inspected the framed articles hanging on her walls. "Not particularly."

There was another awkward silence and Hermione bristled slightly at Draco's insouciance.

"Then may I ask what you are doing here?"

"This office is terrible, Granger," Draco said, ignoring her question as he continued to look around, "it's too small. There's not even a window."

"I'm aware," Hermione replied edgily.

"I mean, I think my kitchen cabinets are larger than this. How can you stand working in here?"

Hermione frowned at him. "It works just fine for what I require," she answered snappily. "Now if you have nothing more than critiques on my work space I think..."

"Work for me," Draco interrupted, finally turning his gaze to her. Hermione gawked at him a little.

"Excuse me?"

Draco leaned back in his chair and folded his hands over his stomach. "I'm offering you a new job," he said seriously. Hermione eyed him curiously before answering.

"I don't need a new job, thank you. I'm quite dedicated to this one and despite the _'terrible'_ working conditions I actually rather enjoy it."

"You can keep this dismal job too if you like," Draco replied with a half shrug.

"I don't understand," Hermione said with a huff, "You haven't seen or talked to me in five years but for a chance meeting two weeks ago - during which you informed me you'd prefer never to see me – and you now all of a sudden want me to come and work for you?"

"Six years," Draco said idly as he inspected a cuticle, "and yes."

"And what exactly is it you'd have me do?" Hermione asked, folding her arms across her chest.

"I need someone to show me how to do Muggle things," he answered.

Hermione fully gawked at him. She shook her head and laughed. "You have the wrong department, Malfoy. The Department of Education office on level two has Muggle Studies tutors available for hire. If you want..."

"I don't want some dumbshite Ministry tutor, Granger," Draco said, leaning forward again. "All they do is _tell_ you about things. I want to _do_ things. I want to experience them."

Hermione looked at him thoughtfully. "Why?"

"I have my reasons," he answered shortly.

"You could hire any Muggle-born to show you how..."

Draco shook his head. "No. It has to be you."

Hermione narrowed her eyes a bit. "Why me?"

"Because I know that you are familiar with Muggle culture."

"So are a lot of people. I'm not seeing a reason for _me_ specifically to show you."

Draco furrowed his brow a bit and pursed his lips. His grey eyes searched her face before he finally replied.

"I don't trust anyone else to show me," he said reluctantly. "You've had the honor of already seeing me at my worst, so I won't be embarrassed if I fail at something in front of you. And I need to be discrete. I know you're good for a secret."

"You think you know me that well?" Hermione challenged lightly. Draco picked at an invisible spot on his robes.

"In this regard. The Prophet never did find out about that little incident you were present for with Astoria, did they? Biggest gossip item since Potter got hitched and not a blurb to be found. Curious that."

"It wasn't my business to tell," Hermione said quietly.

Draco nodded at her. "Precisely."

Hermione studied him silently for a bit.

"What kind of Muggle things are you looking to experience?" she asked at last.

Draco shrugged. "Anything? Everything? Fun stuff. Important stuff. Stuff Muggles do. You tell me."

"How do you expect this to work if I say yes?" Hermione asked seriously.

"You come up with an activity for me to learn. You show me how to do it. I pay you money for teaching me. Simple."

"And you'll accept working around my current work schedule?"

Draco nodded. "I don't really have any other commitments. Whatever works for you, works for me."

Hermione twisted her lip as she looked at her desk in thought. "It'll be just you and me...doing random Muggle things…of my choosing…on my schedule?"

"And I'll pay you...as well as any other costs associated with the activities," Draco said with another nod.

"and you're really serious about this?"

Draco gave her an unwavering stare. "As Dragon Pox."

Hermione looked to be mulling the idea over before she glanced up at the clock on her wall. She picked up her wand from the desk and waved it. At once all of her paperwork was neatly filing itself into cabinets. When the flurry of rustling parchment and closing drawers ceased, she stood and straightened her robes.

Draco watched her from where he sat and cocked an eyebrow as she stowed her wand and grabbed a bag hanging from a hook on the wall. Hermione came around the desk and went to the door of her tiny office. She opened it and paused to look over her shoulder.

"Come on."

Draco smirked and pushed himself up from the chair. "Where exactly is it that we're going?"

Hermione adjusted her bag over her arm. "To a bank," she said with a small smile.

"A bank?" Draco asked amused. Hermione nodded as they stepped out into the dim hall.

"A Muggle one. Muggles don't use Galleons. So if you're going to be paying for all sorts of Muggle things, I think the first practical thing to teach you would be Muggle finances."

"So you're agreeing to the job then?" Draco asked hopefully as he followed her down the hall.

"Merlin help me if I know why…but yes," Hermione answered as they came up beside the reception desk. She glanced at the woman behind it. "Norma, please tell Harry, if he comes, that I had some errands I had to run and that I'm sorry I missed him."

Norma gave a nod without looking up from her _Witch Weekly_.

"She's pleasant," Draco remarked as Hermione stepped in stride beside him out of the department. Hermione simply laughed as they turned the corner toward the lifts.

"Since we'll already be doing some banking, you might want to stop by Gringott's before we start our lesson," Draco said as he pulled an envelope from an inside pocket of his robes. He handed it to Hermione as they waited for a lift. "You'll want to deposit that."

Hermione took the envelope with a puzzled look. "What's this?" she asked, turning the plain envelope over in her hand.

"Payment for services already rendered," Draco answered as he watched the lift slow to a stop at their floor and the gates open. Hermione frowned at him, but tore open the envelope and pulled the thin sheet of parchment from inside as she stepped into the empty lift after him. She looked down at the parchment as the lift gates closed.

"Oh my god," she gasped, clutching a hand to her chest and leaning against the lift wall as she read the payment voucher made out to her. She looked up at Draco with wide eyes. "A thousand Galleons?"

Draco nodded lazily as he leaned against the other wall. "For showing me how to use a trampoline. You were quite right about me enjoying it. I expect you to help me purchase one at some point."

Hermione shook her head and waved the voucher at him to take back. "I am not accepting this," she stated firmly.

"Is it not enough?" Draco asked with a concerned expression. "I can double it."

"Wha…doub…double it?" Hermione spluttered in shock. "No! I'm not accepting because it's too much. We were just having a bit of fun. You do _not_ need to pay me for the trampoline thing."

Draco shrugged. "Then consider it a thank you. I'm not taking it back."

The lift lurched to a stop and Draco stepped out the moment the gates pulled open. He turned back to see Hermione still gaping at him from against the wall.

"Something the matter?" Draco asked lightly. Hermione shook her head slightly as she snapped herself from her stupor.

"No…ah…" she cleared her throat and stepped out of the lift. "The bank is only a few blocks from here," she said as she came up beside him and nervously stuffed the voucher into her bag. "I hope you're not opposed to walking there?"

"Not at all," Draco said, casually stuffing his hands into his robe pockets. Hermione twisted her mouth as she watched him do so and made a hmming noise.

"What are you wearing under these fancy robes of yours?" she asked as they headed to the Floos. Draco raised an eyebrow and grinned.

"A bit forward aren't we?"

"Oh, please," Hermione huffed with a roll of her eyes, "I need to know if we have to get you changed before we go. Muggles are not accustomed to seeing people in wizards' robes in the middle of May."

"Are they ever accustomed to seeing them?" he asked with genuine curiosity.

"On Halloween perhaps," Hermione answered with a shrug. "Now stop being a prat and show me what you've got on."

Draco stopped just before the lines to the Floos and tugged off his slate grey robes.

"Happy?" he asked, grasping his robes in one hand as he held his arms out to his sides to show off the dark grey trousers and light grey dress shirt he was wearing.

Hermione simply tilted her head as she looked him over. "No tie?"

"I hate ties," he said, wrinkling his nose.

Hermione shrugged. "Well, you'll do. That's a good color on you by the way."

Draco's mouth tugged up into a small smile. "Well…?" he asked expectantly as she went to join the short queue for the first Floo.

"Well, what?" Hermione asked turning back to him. Draco looked her very obviously up and down.

"What are _you_ wearing under those _fancy_ robes of yours?"

Hermione kept a straight face and simply pulled off her burgundy robes to reveal a plain black, knee-length pencil skirt and a white blouse. Draco pouted slightly at her lack of reaction to his question, but Hermione showed no notice of it as she turned back to the queue.

"No heels?" Draco asked as he eyed her simple black flats and stepped into line beside her.

"I hate heels," she said with a playful lilt.

"That's unfortunate," he said just as they came up to the Floo for their turn. Hermione looked up at him.

"Why is that unfortunate?"

Draco grinned to himself, but didn't answer as they were consumed with the green flames of the Floo that would bring them to the surface.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Hermione walked down the sidewalk alongside Draco as he read one of the pamphlets in his hands that he'd received from the bank.

"So… Muggles use money called Pounds that can be either coins or paper? But I'm going to get a plastic card? That I'm to use to buy things? And not the coins or paper money? Also the card is really yours? Because I have no…uh…credit history?" he said, face twisting in confusion as he continued to read. Hermione chuckled beside him.

"Well they use Pounds here. In the States they use Dollars, on the continent they mostly use Euros, the Japanese use Yen…"

"Stop," Draco pleaded, "Just stop." He rubbed at his forehead.

"And the credit card will be yours. It'll have your name on it and everything. I merely co-signed," Hermione added.

"But we used your address," Draco frowned a little at the pamphlet.

"Muggle post is a lesson for another day," Hermione said as they came up to the outside of the public toilet entrance of the Ministry. She tugged open her bag and then glanced around furtively before reaching in and pulling out Draco's long robes. She shook them out slightly and handed them to him.

"And when will our next lesson be?" Draco asked as he took his robes from her.

"When I receive your credit card I'll owl it to you along with the date and time of our next activity," Hermione answered as she closed her bag. Draco pouted a little.

"But they said that could take seven to ten days."

Hermione quirked an eyebrow at him. "A week between Muggle lessons is too long?"

Draco shrugged a little. "I don't know. I suppose not."

Hermione gave him a small smile. "I'll look over my current work commitments and try to come up with a reliable schedule for our activities."

Draco merely nodded as he stuffed his banking pamphlets into a pocket of his robes.

"Well...I'd best get back. I've been away for longer than I anticipated already," Hermione said a tad rushed as she inched closer to the entrance, "Do you need to come back down to the Ministry for anything?"

"No. I think I'll head home..." he paused and looked thoughtfully at the ground. "There's really nothing that we could do for free while we wait for the card?"

Hermione lowered the hand she had on the building door. "There are plenty of things we can do for free. I just didn't want to overwhelm you."

"This money-card business _was_ a bit much," Draco confessed with a small chuckle.

"I'll think of something and let you know," Hermione offered at last. Draco nodded and tipped an invisible hat to her.

"See ya 'round, Granger."

Hermione shook her head at him, but smiled. "Sure. Thank you for the interesting day, Malfoy." With that, she pushed open the door and disappeared into the building beyond.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 **A/N: Thank you to everyone that has reviewed, followed, and faved! Your responses are very appreciated!**


	3. Lunch

Draco set down his cup of tea and squinted at the window in his study. The barn owl on the other side of the glass tapped its delicate beak lightly against the pane again and Draco smiled at it as he rose from his chair.

He went to the window and opened it, expecting the beautiful bird to hop inside, but the owl simply scootched the envelope it had brought forward on the sill with its talon.

Draco picked up the envelope and smirked at the curious little bird and the owl simply tilted its heart-shaped face back at him before turning about and flying away. He watched it for a moment before closing the window and then looked back at the envelope. He opened it where he stood and grinned when he read the message.

 _Malfoy,_

 _If you're still serious, meet me at the Leaky tomorrow at noon. Your normal attire is acceptable._

 _-H.G._

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The door to the Leaky Cauldron jangled as Draco opened it and he grinned when he immediately caught sight of Hermione at a table absentmindedly stirring a drink as she read over something laid out before her. He glanced around at the surprisingly quiet pub and walked over to the table.

"You didn't wait for me?" Draco drawled as he seated himself in the chair across from Hermione. "Just ordered yourself a drink and left me to fend?" She looked up from her parchment and smiled.

"Well hello to you too, Malfoy. I'm doing fine, thank you. How are you?" she said just as a waiter came by and set a drink down in front of Draco. He thanked the man and then raised an eyebrow at Hermione.

"I took the liberty of ordering your usual," she said as she picked up her own drink to take a sip. She sighed appreciatively after she swallowed and set down her cup then smiled sweetly back at Draco who was inspecting the drink he'd been given.

"You're sure you're not stalking me?" he joked as he sniffed at his cup.

"Quite sure," Hermione answered.

Draco simply tilted his cup in her direction with a questioning glance. She laughed.

"I asked Tom if you had a usual and he informed me that while you don't come here very often, you always order the same thing when you do," Hermione explained as she pushed her drink slightly to the side. Draco gave her a shifty look, but shrugged and took a drink.

"Now, then..." Hermione started.

"Thank you," Draco said abruptly, pointing to the drink.

"Oh…sure," Hermione said slightly thrown, "It was no trouble. Now…"

"But what if my usual had been firewhiskey or rum?" Draco interrupted with a smirk. Hermione blinked at him.

"Then I suppose you'd be drinking firewhiskey or rum right now. Does it matter?"

Draco frowned a little. "Granger, has anyone ever told you that you're no fun?" he teased.

"Yes," she answered shortly. She cleared her throat and then pushed the parchment across the table to him. "Now, then..."

"This place seems a bit slow for a lunch hour," Draco interrupted again, ignoring the parchment and swiveling his head around. Hermione sighed.

"Yes, it's usually slow like this on Wednesdays. That's why I invited you here. It's familiar, but we won't have a ton of people trying to eavesdrop on us."

Draco hummed as he continued to look around.

"Now, then..." Hermione tried again.

"Do you think we could order food as well? I'm rather hungry," Draco said as he picked up a menu from the empty table next to them.

"If you like," Hermione replied.

"What do you want?" Draco asked her over the menu.

Hermione furrowed her brow a bit. "I don't really have a lot of time. I have to get back to..."

"I'll just order you something," Draco said as he set down the menu. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Fine. Now, then..."

"Granger?"

"Oh for Heaven's sake what!?" Hermione asked exasperated.

"I'm wonderful today. Thank you for asking."

Hermione blinked at him again before shaking her head at herself. "Merlin, what did I get myself into?"

She placed her head in her hands as Draco waved the waiter over to their table. He ordered and when the waiter walked away he looked back at Hermione who was rubbing her fingers over her temples.

"So...are you ever going to tell me why I'm here or are you just going to massage your head all day?"

Hermione lowered her hands and glared up at him. "Really?" she asked.

"What?" Draco asked innocently, reaching again for his drink.

"I've been trying to tell you why you're here and you keep interru..."

"I hope you like fish and chips," Draco said idly as he leaned back in his chair. "Not a vegan are you?"

Hermione closed her eyes and took a calming breath. "No," she answered through gritted teeth after opening her eyes, "I'm not a vegan. Though you probably would've wanted to ask that before you ordered for me."

Draco shrugged as he took a drink.

"And speaking of asking things before you do them," Hermione said and then stopped with a look at Draco expecting him to interrupt again. When he simply stared back at her attentively she continued, "I invited you here to discuss a few items I'll need to know about before I start making arrangements for your... um... special activities."

Draco frowned. "So you mean we're not learning anything Muggle today?"

"Well, I hadn't planned anything, no. But in order for you to start learning Muggle things, _I'll_ need to know a few things first."

"Like what?"

Hermione pointed to the parchment. "If you'll direct your attention to the..."

"Whoa, ho, ho," Draco said holding a hand up to her. "Hold up there, Granger."

"What?" she asked with a puzzled expression. Draco cocked an eyebrow at her.

"We are not in a boardroom or a classroom. Drop the act."

"I was simply telling you to read the parchment, Malfoy," she replied, crossing her arms.

"No," Draco said with a shake of his head. "You were tryin' to do that swotty thing you used to do to remind people how clever you are. I already know how clever you are so cut the shite and just be yourself."

Hermione just sat and stared at him looking lost. "I...I was being myself," she said very quietly. She looked dejectedly down at the table and then picked up the parchment.

"What are you doing?" Draco asked as she rolled it up. Hermione shook her head as she grabbed her bag from the back of her chair and started to stand.

"I'll owl you the names of some trustworthy people that can teach you what you want to know. I have to be getting back to work," she said as she stuffed the parchment into her bag. Draco grabbed her wrist as she went to walk away.

"Granger," he said with a sincere look, " _you_ are the one I want to teach me."

Hermione's chocolate eyes searched his face for a moment. "I don..."

"For you, sir," the waiter said loudly, coming up to the table and setting a plate in front of Draco. Draco rather reluctantly released Hermione's wrist to turn and nod at the man.

"And for you, Miss Granger?" the waiter asked with a questioning look, holding her plate tentatively over where she'd been sitting. Hermione took a deep breath and nodded. The waiter smiled and set down her plate. "Enjoy."

"Thank you, Carmine," she said taking the step back to her seat.

"On the house as always," Carmine the waiter said with a small bow to her. Hermione gave him a weak smile and he turned to leave.

When he was out of range, Hermione slowly sat. There was a brief silence as she cast a blank stare at her food and hugged her bag in her lap.

"I didn't mean to upset you," Draco said a bit awkwardly, "I just don't need you talking down to me is all."

"I wasn't trying to talk down to you," Hermione said a tad defensively, "that's…that's just how I'm used to speaking. I rarely see anyone outside of work besides Harry, and he's used to me." She hugged her bag a little tighter.

"You went out to that party."

Hermione frowned. "Yes, and you saw how well that ended."

They were silent for a moment as Hermione hung her bag back over her chair. She sighed. "Anyway, I'm sorry if you felt that I was trying to talk down to you. I didn't do it consciously."

"You just need to get out more…socialize," Draco suggested as he popped a chip into his mouth.

"Says the man that hardly ever leaves his home?" she said as she started on her fish.

"I'm here aren't I?"

Hermione gave him a shifty look. "For reasons still unknown to me."

Draco gave her an evil grin. "You should probably see a Healer about your recent decrease in mental function, Granger. It worries me."

"What?" Hermione asked indignantly.

"I'm…here…for you…to teach…me…Muggle…things," Draco said very slowly in a voice one might use for a toddler. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Why on Earth did I ever agree to work for you?" she asked, picking up her cup with a shake of her head.

Draco smirked. "Because you think I'm sexy?"

Hermione sprayed her mouthful of liquid over the table.

Draco laughed as he shielded his food with his hands. "I'll take that as a 'yes'," he said with a smug grin.

"Are you always this insufferable?" Hermione asked as she wiped her face with a napkin. Draco paused and tapped a finger against his chin as if mulling over an important thought.

"Yes," he replied with a nod. He popped another chip into his mouth.

Hermione shook her head at him as she pulled out her wand to clean her mess from the table. "Then I should probably quit right now," she chuckled.

"I'd rather you didn't," Draco said, covering his mouth with his hand to speak while he chewed. He swallowed and leaned back in his chair. "So, tell me what you need to know."

"Well," she said as she put her wand back into her robes, "the first thing I need to know is what types of Muggle clothing you already own."

"You've seen it all," Draco answered. "The outfit I had on at the party and then my dress clothes."

"You have one set of casual Muggle clothing?" Hermione confirmed as she poked at her chips. Draco nodded.

"Never had the need for more than that."

"Well, you'll need more now," Hermione said more to herself than to him. She twisted her mouth as she stared at the table. "I think that'll be our next activity," she nodded as she focused again on her food.

"What will?" Draco asked eagerly.

"Shopping," Hermione smiled. Draco gaped at her.

"Shopping?"

"Mmm hmm," Hermione nodded as she chewed a bite of food. She forced herself not to laugh at the look of horror on Draco's face.

"Shopping?" he repeated.

"Is that a problem?"

Draco frowned. "Well, it's certainly not fun."

"It'll be loads of fun. And very educational. You'll learn Muggle fashion, Muggle pricing, the way Muggle stores operate, get to use your credit card, and I'll make sure you end up with a complete Muggle wardrobe so you'll be prepared for our future outings," Hermione said excitedly.

"You just wanna dress me up in a bunch of ridiculous clothing don't you?" Draco groaned. Hermione smirked and simply took another bite. He slumped a little in his chair and Hermione gave him a reassuring smile.

"I'll make sure you look good. It wouldn't do to have heir extraordinaire Draco Malfoy looking anything less than perfect…even as a Muggle," she teased. Draco perked up a bit and smiled back at her.

Hermione's smile faltered and then disappeared as she stared at him across the table.

"What?" Draco asked worriedly. He turned in his chair to look behind him as if to make sure she was actually looking at him and then turned back to face her. "What's the matter?"

"It's…it's still a bit strange," she nearly whispered, "to see you smiling at me. I suppose I just keep waiting for the moment when someone's going to jump out from behind some furniture and tell me I've been the star of some elaborate prank show." Hermione made her hands simulate little explosions near her head. "Surprise! Guess what, Draco still hates you and you're an idiot! Thanks for playing, here's a prize."

Draco looked at her like she had two heads. "Prank show? Granger, what in the fuck are you talking about?"

Hermione sighed and poked at her plate. "Part of my brain keeps screaming at me that this is just some kind of cruel joke. You must admit it'd be difficult for someone to believe that you…YOU could possibly want to actually go shopping with ME and model clothes for me…MUGGLE clothes, and learn how Muggles mail things and drive cars and use computers and whiten their bloody teeth."

"You're going to show me how to drive a car?" Draco asked in awe, ignoring the rest of her little speech. Hermione laughed despite herself at the look on his face.

"If you want me to, sure."

"Drive…" Draco whispered to himself as he gave his plate a far away gaze.

"So, this isn't a joke?" Hermione asked with a hopeful cringe.

"Certainly not," he answered looking up at her. "I may be minted, but even I think it a bit much to spend a thousand Galleons on such a terrible idea of a laugh. Speaking of…" He reached into his robes and pulled out an envelope identical to the one he'd given her two days before. "For helping me with the banking," he said as he slid the envelope across the table.

Hermione looked at the envelope a bit uncomfortably for a moment before picking it up and slipping it into her bag. "Thank you," she said quietly. "Now that actually brings me to the other item I'd like to know."

Draco simply nodded at her to continue as he picked up another chip.

"What is your budget for these little escapades? What are you willing to spend? What's the maximum?" she asked as she too started in again on her lunch. Draco shrugged a little as he chewed.

"I dunno," he said after he swallowed. "A million Pounds a lesson?"

Hermione choked on the bite of fish she'd just taken. She coughed up the hunk and squinted at Draco through watery eyes. "A _million_?" she gasped. "That's a bit much."

Draco shook his head. "I don't expect us to use that much each time, but I want to ensure that we have enough to work with. I will not cheat myself due to lack of funding. I expect top quality for everything we do."

"Noted," Hermione said, dabbing at her chin with her napkin. "Alright, next thing. Are there any activities that are strictly off limits?"

Draco frowned at her. "How would I know? I don't know much about what Muggles do."

"Well, do you have any fears or phobias that might inhibit you from doing something?" Hermione revised. "Do you get sea sick or dizzy easily?"

"Do Muggles have gnomes?" he asked uneasily.

Hermione bit her lip to keep from grinning. "You're afraid of gnomes?"

"Shut up," Draco grumbled and Hermione forced herself not to laugh.

"No, Muggles don't have gnomes. Well…at least not living ones."

Draco sighed in relief, "Then I think I'll be fine with whatever you choose to have us do. Anything else you _need_ to know?"

Hermione nodded. "Are there any Muggle activities besides driving that you _do_ know about that you have any particular interest in?"

"Movies," he answered at once. "I want to see movies."

Hermione reached around and pulled the parchment she'd had out earlier from her bag. She unrolled it in her lap and squinted at it. "Okay…movies. Anything else?" she asked as she peered down at her list and grabbed her cup. Draco hummed in thought for a moment.

"Oh!" he said animatedly and snapped his fingers in the air as the thought came to him, "Sex."

Hermione sprayed this mouthful of drink all over her parchment.

"Malfoy!?" she yelled in shock. She quickly set down her cup. "I am NOT having sex with you for money."

"For free then?"

Hermione's jaw hit the floor as she gaped at him. He laughed.

"Granger…I'm kidding," he said with an amused smirk. He picked up a chip and idly pointed it at her as he continued. "You need to lighten up. But seriously, sex. I just wanna know how they do it differently."

Hermione closed her mouth and awkwardly cleared her throat with a sheepish look. "They, uh…they don't really do that any differently than we…ah…that is to say witches and wizards do."

"Not what I've heard," he said tossing the chip into his mouth.

"Well, you heard wrong," she said with a disapproving scowl.

Draco simply shrugged. "Anyway, we can go over that later. What else have you got?" he asked motioning to the parchment.

Hermione shook out the soggy sheet and frowned. "I think I have quite enough information for now."

A clock somewhere chimed and Hermione mumbled a curse. She stuffed the ruined parchment into her bag as she pulled it from the back of her chair. "I'm sorry," she said hastily as she fished a hand around inside her bag, "but I really must be getting back to the Ministry." She pulled out a handful of coins and set them on the table as she stood. Draco stood at the same time.

"You didn't get to finish your lunch," he said with a slight scowl.

"I told you I didn't have long," she said apologetically. "I have a meeting in thirty minutes. I'll owl you soon about our shopping trip."

Draco gave a reluctant nod of acceptance and Hermione smiled. "Thank you for meeting me, Malfoy. I…"

"Draco."

"What?"

"Please," Draco said seriously, "Call me Draco."

Hermione gave him an appraising look, but returned a small nod. "Draco," she tried the name tentatively, "thank you for coming. And please make sure Carmine gets this if you would."

Draco glanced down at the small pile of money she'd motioned to and then back up at her. "Of course. I hope your meeting goes well. And thank you…Hermione."

She gave him another nervous smile as she slung her bag over her shoulder. "I…I'll see you later," she said at last and then made her way swiftly out the door. Draco watched her go and then looked back down at the table. He pulled his wand and with a few quick flicks of it the remainders of their meals were neatly packed for take away. He stowed his wand and then pulled a handful of Galleons from his pocket and set them on the table.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Hermione blew an errant, frizzy curl from her face as she fumbled around the stack of rolled parchments in her arms to open her office door. She finally grasped the handle and pushed the door open. Several parchments tumbled to her floor and she dumped the whole lot on top of a cabinet to the right of the door. She picked up the fallen ones and after depositing them with the rest, slumped against the now closed door and puffed an exhausted breath.

"I hate meeting with goblins," Hermione groused to herself just as her stomach growled loudly. She rubbed at it and leaned her head back on the door. "That fish and chips would do me good now," she sighed to her empty office. Just as the words left her lips she noticed a white box on her desk. She kicked off the door and went to it. There was a small folded note on top of what was obviously a take away food container.

Hermione picked up the note that had her name written neatly on the outside of it and unfolded it.

 _Looking forward to modeling for you. Enjoy the rest of your meal and the next one's on me. -D_

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 **A/N: You readers are awesome. Thank you for your support!**


	4. Shopping: Part 1

_Draco,_

 _I received your credit card. Meet me at the Leaky on Wednesday at 10 am. Wear the clothes you had on at the party._

 _-H_

 _. . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

Draco spotted Hermione at a table in the far corner of the pub and quickly made his way over to her and sat down.

"Did you bring it?" he asked excitedly. Hermione frowned at him.

"Do you consciously avoid greeting me properly, or are you just that eager?"

Draco smirked. "Good morning, Hermione. Where's my card?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and pulled an envelope from her bag. She slid it cross the table.

"You said you were going to owl it to me," Draco said as he pulled the papers from the already opened envelope.

"I know," Hermione said uneasily. "But…I…I think they messed something up. We might need to go back to the bank."

"What?" Draco asked worriedly. He hurriedly opened the folded paper and eyed the shiny card attached to it. "What's wrong with it?"

Hermione pointed to the card. "That card is black."

Draco's face twisted in puzzlement. "And? Is that bad? What color is it supposed to be?"

Hermione laughed nervously. "Draco…that card has a £1,000,000 spending limit and is extremely difficult to qualify for. The one you applied for had a £3,000 limit. It's not the same card. Something is not right."

"No…it's right," Draco said pulling the card from the paper and admiring it.

"What do you mean it's right?" she demanded. Draco looked at her a bit guiltily.

"I might've had the limit increased."

Hermione blinked at him. "What? How exactly did you manage that?"

Draco leaned on the table as he turned the card over in his hands. "Well, when you asked me about budget limits at our last meeting you had me curious about how much I was worth in Muggle money. So I went to Gringotts and met with one of their consultants."

"And…"

"And," Draco continued, "when I told the goblin I needed regular access to large sums of Muggle money he helped me set up a special account that I can access via Gringotts and the Muggle bank. Gringotts will even automatically pull money from my vaults to keep the Muggle account full with any amount of my choosing."

"They can do that?" Hermione asked in disbelief.

"I didn't know they could either," Draco said shaking his head. "But according to him, they do it quite often. Anyway, they did all that and then when I told him I'd already applied for a credit card he said he'd call the card provider and…"

"Wait," Hermione interrupted, "a _goblin_ …a goblin _called_ a _Muggle_ credit card company?"

Draco shrugged. "Well that's what he said. He said he'd call and give them the true value of my assets to have my limit increased."

Hermione leaned back in her chair and stared at Draco in shock. "So…you have a black card, basically without a spending limit?"

Draco nodded and held the card out for her to take. "The goblin also made sure I got one of these," he said reaching into his back pocket. He pulled out another card and handed it to Hermione as well.

"A Muggle ID," she said with a laugh as she read both cards in her hands. "With my address?"

"The Manor didn't come up with a usable Muggle address apparently," Draco said, taking back the cards. "Anyway…so can we go shopping today, or do you have to go back to work?"

Hermione smiled and stood. "I took the day off," she said, pulling her bag over her shoulder. "I thought we'd have to go back to the bank, but this works out better. We'll have all day to get you your new wardrobe."

Draco smiled widely but then furrowed his brow slightly as he looked back down at the papers that'd come with his card. "This says we have to activate it before it will work. How do we do that?"

"Oh that's easy," Hermione said, patting a hand to her bag. "Once we're in the Muggle street we'll be able to use my phone to call and activate it."

"You've got a mobile phone?" Draco asked with wonderment.

"Today is going to be a big learning day for you," Hermione teased as Draco stood.

"Good," he said nearly bouncing in place, "So where are we going?"

Hermione started for the exit of the pub that led out to Charring Cross Road. "I thought we might start at St. Christopher's Place and browse the boutiques there. It's mostly high-end stuff I think you might appreciate. We'll have to take a cab there, though. It's too far to walk from here. Will that be okay?"

Draco nodded as he followed her. "I've ridden in a car before."

"Good," Hermione said as she opened the door and stepped out onto the busy street. "Then after St. Christpher's we'll be able to walk to Oxford Street."

"I don't know what those places are."

"BIG day of learning," Hermione smirked.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"One down," Hermione said as they exited the shoe shop they'd spent the first hour in.

"I never realized Muggles had so many different types of shoes," Draco said as he looked over his receipt again while they walked. "Trainers, sandals, wing tips, boat shoes, desert boots, hiking boots, patent leather…"

"I liked the Sambas on you best," Hermione interjected. Draco stuffed the receipt into his back pocket.

"Such a strange name for a shoe."

Hermione laughed and grabbed his hand. "So what did you think of your first Muggle store?"

"It was alright," he shrugged. "Do they all work like that? You just pick out what you want and then you pay and they ship it to you?"

"No. Usually people take their purchases with them right away…but we're buying so much it's just more practical to ship. And that place was surprisingly busy. Most of the time these boutiques give you better one-on-one assistance."

"Yeah, the salesman didn't seem too helpful until I went to pay," Draco said with a small frown.

"I imagine that card of yours will have that affect on a number of salesmen," Hermione said with a shake of her head. Draco hummed to himself, but didn't say anything.

"I'm sure we'll have more fun at the next one," Hermione said optimistically. They walked silently for a bit until Draco swiveled his head at a bright window display.

"What is this one?" Draco asked as he paused before the shop window.

"They sell belts," she answered, tugging at him to come along. He resisted and continued to admire the display.

"Just belts?"

"Yes," she answered somewhat impatiently, with another tug.

"I want to go in," he said tugging her back. Hermione frowned a little.

"You'll need more than just belts."

"Obviously," Draco drawled, "But I really like belts."

Hermione sighed but relented and nodded at him to go ahead in.

They stepped through the door and were greeted almost immediately by an impeccably dressed and bubbly saleswoman.

"Good morning, loves. Are we in need of some beautiful waist-wear today?"

Draco raised a brow and looked at Hermione. "This one seems nice."

Hermione flushed a little, but the saleswoman simply chuckled.

"First time in London?" she asked with a friendly smile. Draco simply nodded. "And you need a fantastic new wardrobe to compliment your stay?" the woman asked excitedly. Draco smirked and nodded again. "Well what good will your new fab trousers be without an equally posh belt!?"

Hermione rolled her eyes as the woman then lured Draco over to a series of cases displaying dozens of shiny buckles.

"My name is Christina," Hermione heard the woman say as she walked up to stand beside her and Draco. "And you just leave it to me…"

"Uh…Draco," Draco said timidly as the woman smiled at him questioningly.

"You just leave it to me, Draco, and by the time you walk out that door you'll be set for belt wear for the rest of your life. Or at least until the next season's fashions hit," she said with a saucy wink.

"Okay," Draco said with a funny grin at Hermione. She shrugged her shoulders and Christina then rather boldly reached forward and started undoing the belt Draco had on. Draco stood frozen in place as she swiftly tugged the buckle open.

He snapped an anxious face up at Hermione. She gave him an apologetic grimace and was about to intervene just as the woman yanked the belt free from him.

"Rubbish," Christina said with a disapproving sneer at the offending belt in her hands. She tossed it in a bin against the nearby wall and then, ignoring Draco and Hermione's gobsmacked faces, pulled out a small key and began opening the cases. She pulled out a tray of buckles and proceeded to pick them up one at a time and hold them up to Draco's waist, humming and squinting appraisingly at each one.

Draco and Hermione both stood silently as Christina held-up buckle after buckle, discarding some with a pout or shake of the head. After a few minutes she had a decent selection of a dozen or so buckles laid out over one of the cases.

"These," she said at last, "these are all the buckles that would enhance your slim waistline and accent your light features. I recommend you choose from these."

Draco perused the selection with a sly grin. He picked up a silver one that was shaped like a dragon and held it up to Hermione with a smirk. Hermione laughed with a nod and Christina smiled widely.

"Your turn, Missy," she said grabbing at Hermione's belt.

"Wha…no. We're here for him…" Hermione tried to protest, but Christina was already removing the old, tattered belt from her jeans. Draco folded his arms over his chest and grinned from ear to ear as the saleswoman manhandled Hermione's waistline. Christina held up the belt like it was infected with something before chucking it harshly into the bin. Instead of holding up multiple buckles like she had with Draco, she simply tilted her head and squinted her eyes up and down Hermione's body.

"These," Christina said with a wave of her hand at one of the cases. She opened it and pulled out the tray from inside. "Any of these would compliment your figure."

Hermione curiously looked down at the tray. She picked up a gold one in the shape of an owl and fingered it lightly.

"These really are beautiful," she admitted as she lifted the price tag. Her eyes went wide and she set it gingerly back into the tray. "And expensive."

Draco laughed and turned to Christina. "How about the straps? Are these all the styles available?" he asked pointing to the displayed belts around them on the walls. Christina nodded.

"Yes and the beauty of our line is that all of our buckles and straps are interchangeable. So if you get two buckles and two straps you've really got four belts."

Draco nodded with an impressed grin. "Wonderful," he said pointing to his selection. "I'll take all of them. One of every color strap as well."

Christina blinked at him in disbelief for a moment and then snapped into attention. "All…all of them?"

Draco nodded and Christina immediately scurried behind a counter to begin entering his order. Hermione pushed at Draco's shoulder. "What are you doing?" she hissed at him. He shrugged.

"Purchasing belts."

"This will cost a fortune," she said, holding up one of the price tags to him. Draco snatched it from her and set it back in the tray.

"The goblin and I did the conversions, Hermione. When it comes to Muggle money I'm nearly a bloody _billionaire_. I could buy this fucking _store_. Purchasing more than one belt isn't going to set me over."

"But you don't need _two hundred_ belts," Hermione nearly cried. Draco gave her a sad look.

"When's the last time you just went nuts and bought something for yourself?"

Hermione shook her head as she watched the saleswoman type-up Draco's order. "Never."

"Never? You've _never_ just gone into a shop and said 'fuck it all, I want that' and gotten it no matter how much?" Draco asked in disbelief. "Never just purchased something because it felt good to?"

"Not all of us are billionaires," she pouted defensively.

"You don't have to be rich to treat yourself. Here," he said, picking up the owl buckle she'd been admiring. "You're going to purchase this."

Hermione took the buckle from him but shook her head. "This buckle costs over £50. It's too much."

"You're getting it and a strap to match," he said sternly as Christina came up to them again with a sheet of paper.

"Did you want anything else?" she asked the pair eagerly.

Hermione anxiously rubbed the buckle between her fingers and looked helplessly up at the large selection of straps. Draco looked out the side of his eye at her and frowned.

"You know what?" he said with an irritated growl as he snatched the buckle from her hand, "I think I'll just get it for you." He handed the buckle over to the saleswoman. "Add this," he said sharply to the nearly salivating woman, "as well as the silver version and a strap in every color to go with them."

"What? No, Draco!?" Hermione started to protest. Draco turned to face her.

"It was obvious you weren't going to get it for yourself, so you left me no choice. And for the remainder of our shopping, whatever you pick for me to purchase for myself you will also pick something for yourself that will match it."

Hermione looked horrified. "No, I couldn't possibly…"

"I won't have you looking like an orphan while you show me things. I told you I expect top quality. Consider the new wardrobe your uniform."

"Orphan?" Hermione whispered indignantly, looking down at her outfit.

"And you will get rid of that," Draco said with a nod to her current attire, "It does you no justice."

Christina nodded in agreement with Draco and Hermione scowled at both of them as she crossed her arms over her chest self-consciously. Draco simply smirked and pointed at several more stylish, feminine buckles on the case.

"Add those too."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"It really was kind of the manager to come out and thank us in person," Draco said as he admired the new silver buckle at his waist while they walked. "And to give us these two for free."

Hermione frowned at the gold buckle she had on. "Yes, well…Muggles tend to treat high spenders favorably."

"So about the same as wizards then?" Draco smirked. Hermione nodded.

"I suppose so, yes."

"You know," he said airily, "that really wasn't hard. Muggle shopping seems so much easier. No crazy measuring tapes hovering around or stuff flying off shelves or wands prodding at you. I find I don't mind this near as much as I feared I would."

"I'm glad," Hermione said as she led him up to a storefront. She waved to the door. "But we're far from done. You'll need more than belts and shoes."

Draco raised an eyebrow at her and Hermione motioned to the door again. "In ya go. Time to model," she grinned. Draco hesitated.

"This…this place looks a lot larger than the others," he said somewhat apprehensively, eyeing the enormous and clearly bustling store.

"Because it is," Hermione answered with a chuckle. "The others were small boutiques. This is what Muggles refer to as a 'department store.' They sell a bit of everything. But this is one of the best in the world. And they sell a lot of high-end brands so I'm sure you'll still be satisfied with the selection and quality."

When Draco still looked nervous, Hermione grabbed his hand and entwined their fingers. "You'll be fine," she encouraged with a squeeze to his hand. He gave her a weak smile and let her tug him into the store.

Draco halted in his tracks the moment they were inside. "Merlin," he said breathlessly as he gaped at the sight before him. Hermione watched his face as he turned it this way and that, attempting to see as much as possible of the vast store.

"This place looks larger than Hogwarts," he said as he took a tentative step further in. Hermione smiled.

"I don't know about that," she laughed, "though it does have seven floors and moving staircases."

Draco looked at her and in shock. "Muggles have moving stairs?"

Hermione bit her lip and yanked on his arm. "Come on." She pulled him to a set of criss-crossing escalators. "The structures themselves remain stationary," she explained as Draco watched several people step up and begin to move effortlessly up them, "but the steps move to bring people up."

"Like up to the Headmaster's office," Draco said casually as he continued to watch enthralled.

"Precisely," she said. "Do you want to go up?"

Draco snapped his attention to her. "Uh…I…I dunno. Are…are they safe?"

Hermione smiled and pulled him closer. "Perfectly safe. Just follow me." She stepped onto the escalator and Draco hastily stepped up next to her as she began to ascend. He hugged both arms tightly around her middle and looked nervously over his shoulder at the steadily increasing distance between them and the floor below. Hermione chuckled.

"Didn't think you were afraid of heights."

"I'm not," Draco said shakily.

"Then could you loosen your grip, I can't breathe," Hermione said lightly. Draco shook his head and squeezed her tighter. She smirked.

"Okay…we're almost to the top. Get ready to step off. On three," she said and Draco braced himself as the next floor approached. "One…two…three!"

Draco shut his eyes as he nearly leapt onto the floor beside Hermione. She laughed again as he held her in place and didn't move. Several people jostled into them as they tried to exit the escalator around them and Hermione wiggled in his grasp. "Draco, we have to get out of the way."

He opened his eyes and stood up, releasing his arms to his sides. He stepped aside and straightened his clothes awkwardly. "Sorry," he said with a cough. Hermione ignored his embarrassment and took him by the hand again.

"Now, the hard part…clothes shopping," she said with an eager grin. Draco gulped.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Not a chance in hell," Draco said as he eyed himself in the mirror. He turned and looked over his shoulder at his back. "Definitely not."

"Draco, show me how it looks," Hermione ordered from just outside the changing room door.

"I look ridiculous!"

"Let me see," she demanded again, knocking at the door. Draco growled as he wrenched it open.

"Muggles really wear this shite?" he asked as he stepped out and turned before her. Hermione covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a giggle.

"No. You're right about this one. Take it off," she said, bending over to pick up another set of shirts to have him try. She stood up straight just as Draco tugged the garment over his head. Hermione's jaw fell open slightly at the sight of his bare torso. Her eyes raked over his toned chest and abs and then she swallowed uncomfortably as they grazed over the long scar across his left pec and then settled on the faded snake and skull on his left arm as he chucked the ugly shirt aside. He grabbed the next set from her arms without any notice of her staring.

"How many more do I need to try?" he called out as he disappeared into the room again. Hermione shook herself from her daze.

"Uh…that…you have two more sets of shirts to try," she replied, picking up the discarded shirt. "And then we still have to get you jeans, outerwear and swimwear."

"And you your clothes," he called through the door.

"I'm still not comfortable with that idea," she hollered back.

"Too bad," Draco said, pulling open the door to show her the next shirt. "Now this one is different."

"It's nice. Brings out the silver in your eyes."

"I'm not used to short sleeves," he said, turning to look at himself in the mirror and rubbing at his left arm.

"Muggles won't know what it is," Hermione said cautiously. Draco looked at her in the reflection.

"Does it bother you?" he asked seriously.

Hermione held his gaze for a moment and then stepped up to him. She reached for his arm and he let her hold it up in her hands to inspect the Mark. "Sometimes," she said quietly as she held her left arm up next to his. "But I suspect you had about as much choice in receiving your scar as I did mine."

Draco pulled his arm away gently and shook his head. "I chose mine," he whispered bitterly. He scowled at the floor. "Astoria wanted me to have it tattooed over," he said quietly. He ran his fingers over the Mark. "But I wanted to leave it as a reminder of the cost of ignorance... and hate."

"Ron wanted me to see a Cosmetic Healer to try and get rid of mine," Hermione said softly, fingering her raised, pink scars. "But I wanted to leave it as a reminder of what I can overcome." She looked up and gave Draco a sincere smile. He smiled back and then with a deep breath pointed to the shirt he had on.

"So this one's a 'yes' then?"

Hermione nodded and Draco ducked back into the changing room.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Jeans are marvelous," Draco said as he strutted about the changing area in one of the pairs Hermione had picked out. "And they're surprisingly comfortable." He paused before the mirrors and turned to admire his backside. "I'm definitely buying these."

Hermione laughed as he wiggled his rear at himself in the mirror.

"And seriously…look Hermione," he said turning and shaking his bum in her direction. "They make my arse look amazing."

"Yes…"she agreed awkwardly. "Very nice."

"Nice?" Draco said affronted. He looked back over his shoulder. "It's more than nice, I think."

"What do you want me to say?" Hermione laughed again. "Yes, Draco, your arse looks incredible in those jeans."

"Yes," Draco waggled his eyebrows at her. "Can't wait to see you try on yours."

"Dear Merlin," she moaned with a hand to her forehead. Draco laughed as he sauntered back into the dressing room.

"No need to try on more," he called out. "I'm taking them all."

"Whatever you say, boss."

Draco emerged from the room a minute later still wearing the jeans.

"Keeping those on?" Hermione asked amused as he finished threading his new belt through the loops of them. He nodded and handed Hermione his discarded trousers and a pile of jeans and then picked up another. They took the whole lot to the sales counter to add to the other items they had waiting to be purchased.

"Please have someone fetch three more of each of these in this size," Draco said to the saleswoman behind the counter as he ripped the tag from the jeans he was wearing and handed it to her.

"Are you off for more?" the young woman grinned as he went to walk away.

"Oh, there'll be loads more," Draco said with a wicked smirk at Hermione. She gulped


	5. Shopping: Part 2

"I thought you wanted top quality?" Hermione huffed as she stuffed the dress Draco had handed her back onto the rack.

He frowned a little. "I do."

"Then you might want to stop trying to get me to purchase clothes that will make me look like a streetwalker," she said, glaring disapprovingly at the rack.

"I think it looks nice," Draco said with a shrug.

"Draco...it would barely cover my arse, it's backless, and…tight. I don't think so."

"I still don't see the problem," he teased with a grin. Hermione shook her head at him.

"You are impossible."

"And you are no fun," Draco said with an exaggerated pout. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him and then suddenly yanked the dress in question back off the rack.

"Fine," she snapped, "I'll try-on the bloody, stupid hooker dress. Happy?"

"I think I will be after you try it on," he answered as he followed her toward the changing rooms. Hermione rolled her eyes as she took the stack of clothes Draco was carrying from him.

"Could you perhaps stop with the suggestive comments?" she asked with another huff.

Draco looked sideways at her. "Do they make you uncomfortable?" he asked. Hermione shrugged beside him.

"They might if I thought you actually meant them," she said, looking down to count the items she was holding. "I simply don't think they're appropriate for a working relationship."

A smirk spread across his face. "You think I don't mean them?"

Hermione made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a snort.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Draco asked, raising his eyebrows at her. Hermione shook her head as she went to a free changing room, set down a stack of clothing and began hanging some on a hook.

"You're a bit… _out of my league,_ as they say," she answered as she arranged the clothes.

"Who says?" Draco asked, leaning back against a wall and crossing his arms. Hermione's hand stilled momentarily on its way to hang another garment.

"You," she answered quietly. She placed the last hanger on the hook and then turned to face Draco. "I'll try not to take long. You can start browsing the swimwear if you like. I'm sure one of the saleswomen will be happy to help you."

Draco made a show of settling himself more comfortably against the wall. "No, I'm good here. Can't very well see you model from out there."

Hermione grumbled something as she closed the door and Draco laughed. "Did you really think I'd let you get away with just trying everything on without showing me?"

"Insufferable," Hermione said behind the door.

"I heard that," Draco called back. "Besides…I'm paying _you_ to help me shop, not some sales twit. And try that dress on first."

A minute later, Hermione emerged.

"I said to try on the dress first," Draco said with a frown. Hermione walked out and turned before the mirror to admire the designer jeans and blouse she'd changed into. She ignored Draco as she ran her hands over her hips.

"What do you think?" she asked, eyeing her reflection. Draco tilted his head as he examined the outfit.

"I think your arse looks incredible in those jeans," he said with a playful grin. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him in the mirror.

"Prat," she mumbled, moving her hands to cover her bum. He laughed.

"You're getting that. Next."

Hermione quickly disappeared into the room. She came back out after a bit wearing another casual ensemble.

"Getting it. Next," Draco said before she could even come before the mirror. Hermione frowned at him and he smirked. "I know what I like."

Hermione's frown deepened. "What if I was about to say this was uncomfortable and didn't fit right?" she asked challengingly.

"Is it uncomfortable or unfitting?" Draco responded sincerely. Hermione relaxed her frown.

"Well, no."

"Then why are you bitching? Next."

Hermione rolled her eyes and backed back into the room.

Half an hour later, Draco returned to the changing area after giving the woman at the counter the fourth pile of approved clothing for Hermione. "How many more have you got to try?" he asked through the door, "I'm starting to get hungry."

"Only a few," Hermione answered as she opened the door and stepped out. She went to the mirror and turned about.

"I quite like this one," she said, smoothing her hands over the beige pantsuit she had on.

Draco wrinkled his nose. "That's a no."

"What do you mean it's a no?" Hermione asked,looking over herself. "This is really nice."

"It's boring. If you want to be boring then get it, but you won't be wearing it around me. Next."

"Jerk," Hermione muttered as she slammed the door behind her. "Tell me again why I've agreed to help you?" she called through the door as she changed.

"Because you think I'm sexy," Draco called back. He started to laugh when he heard her curse under her breath, but was stopped by the pantsuit flying over the top of the door and landing on his head. He grabbed the outfit and chucked it aside with a satisfied grin. He leaned back again and picked at his nails as he waited. "When did you even sneak that boring suit into the pile?" he shouted.

Only labored breathing and muttering answered him and Draco squinted his eyes at the door. "Are you quite alright in there? In need of any assistance?"

The door suddenly swung open and Hermione marched out and over to the mirror wearing the skimpy dress Draco'd picked out earlier.

"How's this for boring?" Hermione snapped with a scowl as she tugged self-consciously at the very short hem of the dress. She went to the mirror right away, missing the way Draco straightened up and his eyes widened.

"Damn," he said quietly.

"I know," Hermione said as she grimaced at her reflection, "this is ghastly." She turned and looked over her shoulder at her backside. "I would _never_ be able to wear this _anywhere_."

"This," Draco said firmly, his eyes roaming over her form, "You are getting this."

"I am not getting this dress," she said, attempting to pull the low neckline up higher to hide her cleavage. Doing so brought the hem of the super-short dress up exposing the bottom of her bum. She hastily tried to pull it down again and whimpered when it caused the neckline to replunge dangerously low. "Draco, this dress barely covers anything."

Draco didn't respond and Hermione finally looked up at him to see him staring at her arse like he was in a trance. "Hey!" she said, snapping her fingers at him.

Draco slowly moved his eyes up to meet hers. "You are getting this dress," he repeated flatly. Hermione gave him a guarded look as she continued to tug at the top and bottom of the dress.

"We won't be learning anything that will require this, Draco," she said in a small voice. "I could never wear this in public."

"I think we need another opinion," Draco said, taking Hermione by the hand and tugging her towards the sales floor.

"Draco!" she protested, trying to pull against him. "No, please. I don't even have shoes on!"

He ignored her as he scanned the floor for another person.

"Miss?" Draco called out to a saleswoman just to their right. "Would you be so kind as to give us your opinion on this garment?"

The woman stepped up to them and Hermione's face burned red as she looked her over.

"Well I could certainly never pull something like this off," the woman said tilting her head as she studied Hermione in the dress, "but, honey, with those lean legs and that slim waistline you were practically made to wear this."

"Well, there you have it," Draco said turning to Hermione. "I like it and she likes it. You're getting it."

"She has to say that," she hissed at him, "She's a _sales_ woman."

Draco shrugged and smiled kindly at the woman. "We have some other items waiting to be purchased at the counter. Will it be alright for us to step out for a quick meal and return to finish our shopping afterward?"

"You are the Malfoy order?" the woman asked eagerly. Draco nodded and the woman gave him a toothy smile. "Take all the time you need, sir. We will have your order ready whenever you are. And if I may make a suggestion, there is a lovely café on the floor below that has a wonderful selection."

"Splendid," Draco said tugging at Hermione's hand again. "Thank you."

"Not at all," the woman said, bowing her head slightly. "My name is Sophia. If you need any further assistance please do not hesitate to ask."

Draco returned a nod to her and then turned to Hermione. "Want to try the café?"

Hermione simply yanked her hand free from his grasp and stalked off toward the changing area. Draco followed after her and quirked an eyebrow at the way the dress began to ride back up as she walked.

"How many colors did that dress come in?" he asked with a grin.

"Keep it up and I'll quit," Hermione said as she pulled at the hem again and threw herself into the changing room.

Draco blinked at the closed door she'd slammed and pressed a hand to the front of his jeans.

"Damn," he repeated to himself.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Ordering here was easy," Draco said as he read over the menu in his hands, "This menu looks remarkably similar to one I might find in a Wizarding establishment." Hermione nodded and then gave a quick glance around at the other patrons to see that they weren't eavesdropping.

"Yes," she answered leaning forward on the table, "Food seems to be one of those things that somehow Muggles and Wizards have managed to do almost entirely the same. They even call most dishes the same names. It really only starts to differ when it comes to beverages and sweets."

Draco hummed as he set down the menu. "How do the sweets differ?"

"Well...Muggles don't have access to magical ingredients. So their candy is much more about tasting good rather than about say, having it make you float or snapping at you."

"I'm rather fond of sweets," Draco said as he let his eyes drift about to people watch.

"I think I remember that," Hermione said with a small smile. "You used to get chocolates sent to you all the time at school, didn't you?"

"My mother would send them," he answered with a nod.

"So, would you be interested in visiting a Muggle sweet shop?"

Draco shrugged. "Sure. I suppose a man can't call himself a true candy connoisseur until he's tried everything."

"You call yourself a candy connoisseur?" Hermione asked with a smirk.

"I'm a connoisseur of many things," he replied with a waggle of his eyebrows. Hermione shifted a bit in her chair but simply shook her head at him.

"Well we know fashion isn't one of them," she said, leaning back.

"I don't know why you're so against wearing that dress," Draco said, picking up his glass of water and swirling it slightly. "It really did look gorgeous on you."

Hermione's cheeks flushed and she cleared her throat awkwardly. "I...ah...I'm just not used to wearing so...little," she replied as Draco sipped at his water. "I tend to choose more conservative items."

"Conservative as in that boring pantsuit?" Draco asked with a sigh. Hermione frowned at him.

"That suit was lovely."

"No," he said surely, "Sunsets are lovely. You are lovely. That pantsuit...atrocious."

Before Hermione could respond the waitress returned to their table with their lunch. She set their plates in front of them.

"May I bring you anything else?" she asked politely. Draco looked to Hermione to answer but found her staring at her plate apparently lost in thought.

"Uh...we're fine for now. Thank you," he answered and the woman gave a weak bow and left. Draco watched Hermione for a moment.

"What's wrong?" he asked, picking up his sandwich. Hermione snapped from her daze and looked up at him.

"Nothing," she sighed, poking at her own sandwich, "Just trying to figure out when I slipped into this alternate universe where Draco Malfoy so easily compliments me."

Draco smiled and then blocked his mouth with his fist as he spoke around his bite. "So what have you been up to since we graduated?" he asked, avoiding her statement. "Did you go to the Ministry right away?"

Hermione gave him a small smile as she picked up her sandwich and shook her head. "Not right away. I did some traveling first."

"Where to?" Draco asked, giving an impressed look to the sandwich he'd set back down.

"Australia," she answered.

"I've never been. How is it there?"

Hermione hesitated for a moment before answering. "The area I visited was quite beautiful."

"Would you go back?"

"I go back once a year actually. My parents live there."

Draco gave her a mild look of surprise. "Really?"

Hermione gave an affirmative hum as she chewed. "I contemplated moving there myself," she added after she swallowed, "but the wildlife scared the shite out of me."

Draco choked on the sip he'd just taken. "What?" he laughed, "Why?"

"The spiders there are the size of dinner plates. Regular spiders. They eat _birds_ , Draco," she said emphatically.

"Jesus," he said, leaning back. "Are you afraid of spiders then?"

"Not particularly, no," she answered, "but I think even Hagrid would be wary of the ones out there."

"So what _are_ you afraid of?"

Hermione shrugged. "I'm not very comfortable with flying. It's not really the heights that scares me... I don't know…something about being on a broom that high just makes me uneasy."

"So no romantic moonlit broom rides. Got it,"Draco said with an impish grin. Hermione simply picked up her sandwich again.

"Muggles don't ride brooms, so I think we'll be fine avoiding that particular scenario."

Draco hummed for a moment. "Okay…so you traveled. What then?"

"Then I came back here and began an internship at the Ministry while working to start S.P.E.W. I've been managing its affairs ever since."

"And outside of work?" Draco pried. "What do you do for fun?"

Hermione twisted her mouth a little as she focused on her plate. "I have dinner with Harry and Gin at least once a month. Talk to my mum on the phone. Play with my cats. Dabble a bit in experimental potion making." She shrugged again. "You're the most exciting thing that's happened in a while."

Draco's mouth quirked up into a smirk. "If you think I'm exciting now, just wait until I model the swimwear."

Hermione gaped at him a moment and then shook her head at him again. "Have you always been this cocky?"

"I could make a really filthy double entendre right now," he replied.

"Oh Merlin, please don't," Hermione laughed with a hand to her forehead. Draco laughed back as he picked up his glass and tilted it toward her.

"To an entirely inappropriate working relationship," he toasted. Hermione gave a resigned sigh and lifted her own glass.

"To learning Muggle things," she offered in return. Draco tilted his head forward in acceptance and winked at her as they sipped.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Why do they call these trunks?" Draco inquired as he held up a pair that Hermione had handed him.

"I'm not sure. I've never looked into it," she answered, taking another pair of swimming trunks from the display and tossing them to him. He caught them and frowned at her.

"You don't really expect me to try all of these, do you? They all look the same but for the color."

"You're pale…color will be important," Hermione answered, still rifling through the display. "I'll need to see how they look _on_ you."

"You just want to ogle me," Draco teased. Hermione lifted a blue-plaid patterned pair of trunks up and smiled at them.

"Yes," she said nonchalantly, "I totally do." She turned to face him then and laughed at the startled look on his face. "What? Oh, so you're the only one that gets to be inappropriate?" she asked playfully, holding the pair up to him just out of his reach.

Draco took a step forward to grab the trunks from Hermione's hand. "Did you mean it?" he asked with a smirk. Hermione simply motioned to the women's section.

"Come help me pick out suits that match the ones you've got."

Draco swiveled his head around to see the racks full of colorful swimsuits and bikinis. "Gladly," he said.

Hermione led him over to them and picked up a hanger in each hand. "This one," she said holding up a two-piece suit, "is called a bikini or two-piece. I will not wear one. Don't bother picking them out for me." She held up the other hand. "This one is a one-piece, just like we have in the Wizarding World. So long as it covers the midsection you can pick out any style of these for me to try."

Draco looked back and forth between the two types of suits and cleared his throat. "Um…wouldn't it be more… _educational_ for me if you wore the two-piece since it's unique to Muggles whereas the one-piece is not."

Hermione placed the bikini back on the rack. "Nice try," she said, "But no. You'll pick from one-pieces and be glad I'm even allowing that."

"But…"

"I'm not joking, Draco," Hermione interrupted, "If you so much as hint about me wearing a bikini again, I will leave you here and you'll never see me again."

Draco held a hand up in surrender, "Okay, okay. No bikinis. Yeesh. No need to get tetchy."

Hermione directed her attention back to the suit still in her hand. "Now, then…what do you think of this one? It'd match that blue pair I just gave you."

Draco nodded in agreement as he started perusing the selection of swimsuits. "It's nice. Here," he said handing her three more suits he'd already picked off the rack. Hermione took them from him and he darted over behind another rack. "Oh, you are so trying this one," she heard him call out excitedly.

"You're eagerness is frightening," Hermione replied anxiously as she peered around the rack to see him swinging the hanger with the suit he'd found back and forth on his finger in front of him.

"You have got to be kidding me," Hermione laughed as she looked at the green, snake skin patterned suit. Draco grinned ear to ear.

"Hey…it's one-piece and it covers the middle," he said smugly.

"So it does," Hermione sighed, taking it from him. She looked at it a moment and then placed it back on the rack.

"Hey!" Draco said angrily, "You said I got to pick."

Hermione furrowed her brow slightly as she grabbed another suit in the same style and added it to her per pile. "I was only getting the correct size," she replied. "Who's tetchy now?"

"Oh," Draco said sheepishly. He quickly shrugged away the awkwardness and reached for another suit. "How about this one?"

Hermione wrinkled her nose. "Please, no," she said, eyeing the metallic gold, fringed suit, "It's tacky."

Draco put it back and chose another. "This one?"

"This one I like," she said, taking the vintage style, polka dot suit from him. She checked the size and placed it over her arm with the others. "Grab me two more and let's get modeling."

Draco quickly grabbed two random suits and then took Hermione's hand. She laughed as he nearly tugged her arm out of the socket as he pulled her to the changing rooms.

"Anxious to get this over with?" she asked with a grin.

"Are you joking?" Draco replied as they arrived at the changing area, "I've been looking forward to this part all day."

"You've wanted to try on swimwear all day?" she asked amused. Draco snorted and went to an empty room.

"You in this one," he said, pointing. "And I'll go in this one."

"You want to try them on at the same time?"

He nodded and Hermione shrugged. "That's a rather good idea actually. It will save time and we'll get to see how we look toge…"

"Less talk, more changing," Draco interrupted disappearing into his room. "And try on the snake one first!"

Hermione rolled her eyes and went to the room directly across from his.

"Are you ready?" she heard Draco call out a minute later.

"Almost," she called back as she adjusted her breasts evenly behind the tight spandex of the suit. She looked down at herself in the snake skin pattern and shook her head with a chuckle. "I can't believe I'm doing this," she whispered to herself before shouting out again. "Ready!"

Draco and Hermione opened their doors at the same time and stepped out. They both stopped in their tracks when they caught sight of each other.

"Wow," Hermione said quietly as she looked over Draco who had changed into a solid black pair of trunks.

"Holy fuck," Draco breathed as he raked his eyes over Hermione.

They both stood, staring at each other for a minute until another shopper entered the area. The elderly woman stopped when she saw them. She immediately noticed Draco's Dark Mark and looked at it pointedly with a disapproving scowl. She muttered something as she shook her head and slipped into a room. Draco quickly tried to cover his arm with his right hand and started to back away into his room.

"It's okay," Hermione said gently, stepping forward and taking his hand in hers. She tugged him back out and led him over to the full length mirror.

"You…you said they wouldn't know what it was," Draco whispered uncomfortably.

"They don't," Hermione assured, "they'll just think it's a tattoo. Unfortunately some Muggles find tattoos distasteful. Apparently she was one of them." Hermione frowned at the closed door of the room the woman had gone into.

"I... I think I've had enough learning for today," Draco said, still trying to hide his arm.

"Okay," Hermione said softly. "I don't think we need to bother trying anymore suits on anyway. You're getting these," she said, tugging at the waistband of his trunks. Draco quirked an eyebrow and smirked at her in the mirror despite himself.

"And you are _definitely_ getting this," he said, running a hand over her hip. Hermione shivered slightly and then gave him a playful shove.

"Go change," she ordered, "so we can go spend the gross national product of a small country purchasing all this."

Draco gave her a smile and nodded and then went back into his changing room.

Hermione looked sadly at his door and then glared at the door of the old woman's room before sighing and going back to her own.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"So when shall we meet again?" Draco asked as he and Hermione stepped up to the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron.

"Our purchases are all supposed to arrive at my house by Friday morning, so I think Friday night you should come over and help me sort it all," Hermione answered.

"You want me at your house?" Draco said with genuine surprise. Hermione nodded.

"You already have the address. I'll keep my Floo open so you can come in that way. I should be home from work around five. Will that work for you?"

"So, you want me to come over Friday night and help you sort clothes and shoes?" Draco confirmed hesitantly.

"Yes…I'll get take away and put on some Muggle music while we work so you'll still get some learning in as well," she said enthusiastically.

"Okay, then," Draco said with a slight nod, "Friday at five. Your place. Sorting. Take away. Music. Got it."

Hermione gave him an encouraging smile. "I had fun with you today," she said quietly. She leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "I'll see you Friday…and thank you for lunch and the clothes."

With that she entered the pub, leaving a stunned Draco on the sidewalk rubbing reverently at his cheek.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 **A/N: Someone asked how many chapters I anticipate this to be. The answer: NO IDEA.**

 **Sorry...I just write...and write...and write...until my brain says stop. I will say this though...I already have at least ten different things I REALLY want Draco to do, plus I'm willing to consider ideas given to me by you lovelies. So I'd say a fair amount of chapters are yet to come.**


	6. Light Switches and First Aid

"Hello? Hermione?" Draco called out as he brushed the small amount of soot from his trousers after stepping out of her Floo. Nothing but silence answered him and he rechecked his pocket watch.

Five thirty.

Draco replaced the watch into his jacket pocket and hesitantly ventured a few steps into what appeared to be a sitting room. "Hermione?" he called louder, "Are you here?"

When he got no response he made a worried face and let his eyes wander about. He took a few more steps into the room and craned his neck to look down a hall. It was dark. He huffed a little and allowed himself to inspect the pictures hanging on the nearest wall.

"Well, this is obviously your house," he commented out loud to himself as he looked upon a close-up moving photo of Harry's laughing face being kissed by Hermione on one cheek and Ron on the other. He squinted at the photo and rubbed a hand to his own cheek where Hermione had kissed him.

"That was taken at Harry's wedding," a voice sounded from directly behind him.

Draco jumped at the voice and, in an instant, whirled around and pulled his wand ready to defend himself. His eyes went wide when he realized it was Hermione and that he had his wand jabbed lightly under her ribs.

Hermione cocked an eyebrow at him. "Is that your wand or are you just happy to see me?" she asked, biting back a grin.

"Merlin, Hermione...I could've hurt you. What were you thinking walking up and startling me like that?" Draco demanded as he looked down to stow his wand back into its holster. What she'd said suddenly seemed to register as Draco's head snapped up again.

"Wait. Did...did you just make a dick joke?" he asked with a disbelieving smirk.

Hermione shrugged as she turned her attention to the photos Draco'd been looking at. "Hey, I'm off the clock," she said, "I can make whatever jokes I want."

"I've already told you...you can make whatever jokes you want ON the clock as well," Draco reminded with a hint of exasperation. "I just never imagined you as the type that would know jokes like that."

Hermione barked out a laugh. "Right," she said between chortles, "you don't hang out with two boys for the better part of a decade and not learn a sex joke or two."

"Potter and Weasley told you sex jokes?" Draco asked aghast. Hermione laughed again.

"So many," she answered with a nod as she fondly perused her wall of frames. "I really do adore this one," she said after a moment, pointing to the picture of Harry's face again.

"That was a good day. Not sure I've ever laughed so hard. It was just supposed to be me giving Harry a cute peck on the cheek – this was," Hermione added, running a finger over the glass of the frame, "- and then Ron bolted in at the last moment as the photo was taken. It's one of my favorites."

She glanced around at the other frames mounted on the wall and Draco noticed as her eyes lingered on a group photo to their left and an almost imperceptible scowl flitted across her face to replace her nostalgic smile.

"What's that one of?" Draco asked, pointing to the photo. Hermione pursed her lips a little and focused on it.

"Last Christmas," she answered, "we had a farewell party for Ron."

"Where'd he go?" Draco asked before he could stop himself.

"France," Hermione said simply.

"Weasley went to France?" Draco said dubiously, "Why?"

Hermione pointed to a small blonde woman standing next to Ron in the photo. "Gabrielle Delacour is why. Apparently veelas have a thing for gingers," Hermione shrugged. "Anyway, she came of age, and came for a visit with Fleur and Bill and, well…next thing you know, I'm single again and Ron's packing his bags for the continent."

"Weasley left you for _her_?" Draco asked with a scowl.

"To his credit he didn't cheat on me," Hermione answered with a sigh. "Wouldn't have worked out between us anyway. I didn't even cry when he broke it off. We really are better as friends."

"He still left you," Draco said in an annoyed tone. Hermione puffed a resigned breath as she continued to eye the photo.

"I couldn't exactly compete. Not with her blonde hair and fun personality and scarless body." Hermione's hands moved to her middle and her fingers clutched momentarily at her shirt before she hastily lowered them and forced a smile up at Draco. "Anyway, she's lovely and he left and they're happy and now I get to spend the evening with _you_."

Draco narrowed his eyes at her middle, but quickly looked up and grinned back. "How lucky for me. What shall we start off doing this fortuitous evening a _lone_ together? Perhaps I could hear some more of these jokes you've catalogued away from your years subjected to male adolescent humor?"

"Perhaps you'd like a quick tour of your legal Muggle address first?" Hermione said, patently ignoring Draco's playful leer.

"Whatever the lady wishes. Lead the way," he said with a slight bow. Hermione rolled her eyes at him then flipped a switch on the wall. The hallway to their left lit up the moment she did so and Draco gawked.

"What did you just do?" he asked, squinting his eyes at the light fixture on the hall ceiling. Hermione pointed to the switch.

"I turned on the lights. This is a light switch. You flip it one direction to turn on the lights and the other to turn them off it," she encouraged with a smile. Draco eyed the switch warily for a moment and then reached out and flipped it causing the light to turn off.

"Cool," Draco said as he flipped the lights back on then off and on again. "This is eckeltrissty, yeah?"

"Electricity, yes," Hermione replied, "It's a current of energy that is converted into heat, light, or power. Sort of like physical magic."

Draco flipped the switch a few more times and then looked at her with a curious expression. "Physical magic?"

"That's how I see it," she answered with a shrug, "In my opinion Muggles have just as much magic as wizards...they simply can't harness it with a wand. So they invent technologies to channel it for them."

"Like your mobile?" Draco asked thoughtfully. Hermione nodded with a smile.

"Yes. Muggles don't have Floo access or magic mirrors, but they can still talk to nearly anyone, anywhere, anytime with the push of only a few buttons. I'd say that's magic. And really...it's easier for Muggles because there's hardly anything to learn to do it. Even toddlers can use telephones."

Draco blinked at Hermione for a minute like his brain had short-circuited. Hermione gave him a worried look.

"Um...are you alright?" she asked gently.

"What…what other magic do they have?" he asked seriously.

Hermione smiled and took his hand. "All in good time," she answered kindly.

She tugged at his hand and, with a last glance up at the light fixture, Draco allowed himself to be pulled down the hall.

"This is one of the bathrooms," Hermione said gesturing to the first door on their right, "Muggle toilets work exactly like wizarding ones so feel free to use it whenever you need."

Draco peeked into the room and then let Hermione yank him to the next door.

"This is the door to the basement. It stays locked. You do not go down there," she said placing a hand flat against the door. Draco frowned at it.

"Why not?" he asked. "What's down there?"

"My potions lab," Hermione answered, "At any given time, I may have several things brewing at once. I've reinforced the area fairly well, but if you breach the safeguards by opening the door without me…well the results might be disastrous. Can't have you maiming that pretty physique of yours."

Draco took a step away from the door and looked at it like it was in imminent danger of exploding. "What the hell are you brewing that is so potent it could be disturbed by opening a door?" he asked astounded.

Hermione gave him a wicked grin. "Never you mind," she answered with another tug of his hand to bring him to a set of stairs. Draco frowned back at the lab door and then followed Hermione up the steps to a large landing.

"My reading area," she commented airily with a wave to the welcoming and comfortable looking lounge area. "These are all Muggle books," she added, nodding to the tall bookshelves against the wall, "They're arranged and labeled by subject, so feel free to borrow any that might interest you."

"No wizard literature?" Draco asked curiously. Hermione smirked and let go of his hand to step over to a large trunk and open it. Draco leaned over to look inside and nearly choked at the sight of a room, several stories deep within it lined with what looked to be thousands of tomes.

"Holy shite," Draco gasped as he gaped at the collection. "Impressive," he admitted. Hermione beamed proudly down into the trunk and then slammed it shut.

"Thank you," she said, taking his hand again. "Now, this way to the bedrooms."

"Now you're talkin'," Draco said with a purr. Hermione shook her head slightly, but simply pushed at the next door they came to and let go of Draco's hand to stand up against it to prop it open. She pointed at another light switch and Draco flipped it and then stepped into the doorway right next to her. Hermione flattened herself as far as she could against the door as Draco brushed against her when he entered. Her breath caught and Draco's lips twirked up into a smug grin.

"Whose room?" he asked casually, looking about the space. Hermione cleared her throat and moved from the door back into the hall.

"Uh…guest room," she said quietly. She walked down the hall and Draco quickly followed after turning off the light.

"This is my parents' bedroom," Hermione explained at the next door, "if they ever visit. And that is my room." She simply pointed at the closed door at the end of the hall. Draco pushed past her to it and put his hand on the handle. He started to open the door and Hermione flung herself toward him in a panic.

"No, no, no! Don't open my do…"

"Aaah! Get it off, get it off!" Draco shrieked when he was pelted in the head with a hissing mass of fur and claws. He stumbled into Hermione's bedroom and fell back against the wall as he desperately swatted at the animal assaulting him.

"Bad boy, Odin!" Hermione scolded as she rushed to Draco's side and attempted to pry the grey and black kneazle kitten off of Draco's head. "You let go of Draco this instant! He's a friend!"

Draco grunted in pain as the cat retracted its sharp claws from his scalp and launched itself into Hermione's arms.

"What the fuck is wrong with that thing!? It needs to be destroyed!" Draco shouted as he dabbed at the blood trickling down his forehead and glared at the kitten now settled peacefully against Hermione's chest.

"Odin is just protective," Hermione said looking down at the tiny grey bundle of fur, "he thought you were an intruder."

"He's vicious," Draco insisted, hissing as his fingers found another deep scratch on his cheek.

"Is not," Hermione spat back. "You're the one that barged into my room."

"You were giving me a tour," he replied defensively. "You pointed at the door and I took that as an invitation to go to it. Jesus…" Draco glanced down at his hand that was splotched with red, "do you have a bathroom up here I can use so I can fix myself?"

Hermione placed a kiss to the top of tiny Odin's head and then let him leap to the floor and gambol out the door. "In there," she said pointing to another door on the opposite wall of her bedroom. Draco went to the door and stepped through and flipped on the switch beside it.

He stopped in his tracks. "Well that's interesting," he grinned at the sight of a pair of black lace knickers laying on the white tiled floor beside a pair of pajama bottoms and a tank top. Hermione darted in behind him and snatched them up with a furious blush.

"I…I wasn't expecting you to come in here," she admitted, casting her embarrassed gaze about and stuffing the clothes into a laundry hamper behind the door. "I forgot I left them out."

"Do you always wear knickers like that?" Draco asked eagerly.

"They…they go nicely under my work skirts," Hermione said uncomfortably. "Would you like some help?" she asked, redirecting his focus to his injuries. Draco frowned at his reflection in the mirror above the sink and poked at several long scratches down his face.

"Little bugger got me good," he said as he moved his hands to his hair and parted it with his fingers to inspect the claw marks beneath. "Don't suppose you've got any Dittany?"

"I do," Hermione said, opening a cabinet and extracting a tiny vial from it. She looked at the vial thoughtfully for a moment. "Would you like to see how Muggles treat wounds instead?"

Draco raised a brow at her in the mirror. "Do you think that's a good idea?"

Hermione shrugged. "It's just a few scratches. I think I can manage them."

"Okay," Draco agreed, "but they better not scar."

"I promise not to mar your beautiful face," Hermione said as she reached back into the cabinet to replace the Dittany and pull out a first aid kit. She set the small kit on the sink counter and opened it. Draco peered curiously down at the items within it as he quickly cleaned his hands.

"What is all that?" he asked. Hermione pointed to each of the items as she named them.

"Antiseptic wipes, adhesive bandages, antibiotic ointment, gauze, tape, tweezers, cotton swabs, and antihistamine cream."

She picked up an antiseptic wipe packet and ripped it open.

"What is that for?" Draco asked as he watched her pull out and unfold the thin white sheet.

"To clean the wounds," she answered, placing a hand to his chin to turn his face to better view his scratches. "Try to hold still. This may sting," she warned just as she lightly swiped over the first scratch. Draco sucked in a breath at the pain.

"Are Muggles sadistic on purpose?" he spit out as Hermione tended to him. She chuckled as she pulled his chin down to reach the top of his head.

"Don't be so dramatic. It only hurts for a moment. Now be quiet and hold still."

Draco huffed a little and then winced again as Hermione scrubbed a little harder at a slice on his scalp. She tossed the used wipe into the bin beside the sink and ripped open another.

"You have to do more?" Draco whined as she pulled his chin down again. Hermione simply smiled as she cleaned the remaining scratches.

"There," she said after another minute of dabbing and scrubbing, "all clean." She threw away the wipe and pulled the small tube of antibiotic ointment and a cotton swab from the kit.

"Now what are you going to do?" Draco asked, eyeing her hands. "Is that like a potion?" he said as Hermione uncapped the tube and squeezed a small dollop of ointment onto the swab.

"In a way, yes," she said setting down the tube. "This creates a barrier between the wound and bacteria to prevent infection. It also helps the wounds heal faster."

"Did you make it in your basement?" Draco asked warily.

Hermione shook her head. "No, I purchased it. Very few Muggles make their own remedies. Now hold still again please."

Draco bowed his head and braced himself for more pain but relaxed the moment Hermione gently wiped the swab along a scratch on his scalp. He remained silent and still as she deliberately and carefully applied the ointment. When she finished with the ones on his scalp, Hermione lifted his face with her fingers to his chin and narrowed her eyes at the long claw marks down his left cheek.

"I'm sorry Odin did this to you," she said softly as she dabbed at the first red line, "he was just doing his job…what he was bred for."

"He was bred to kill?" Draco laughed.

"No," Hermione said drawing out the word, "he was bred to protect. Mrs. Figg said more witches and wizards have been saved by faithful kneazles than by watch dogs."

"Who's Mrs. Figg?"

"The lady I bought Odin from." Hermione applied more ointment to a new swab and focused back on Draco's cheek. He went quiet again and watched her face as she continued to gently dab. He smiled minutely at her calm countenance and she glanced up to meet his gaze.

Hermione's hand paused briefly in its ministration as they stared at each other. Draco's smile faded into a contemplative expression as his eyes shifted from hers down to her lower lip that was bitten lightly between her teeth. Hermione licked her lip and swallowed hard and Draco looked back up at her eyes.

He raised his hand to her face and lightly brushed one of her brown curls over her ear. Hermione flinched slightly at the contact and gave a nervous laugh as Draco lowered his hand.

"Sorry," she said as she quickly went back to finish applying the ointment to his last cut. "All done. I don't think any are wide enough to require a bandage."

Draco quietly watched her put away the first aid kit and wash her hands. He leaned forward next to her to eye his face in the mirror.

"How long does it take for scratches to heal this way?" he asked seriously. Hermione shrugged as she dried her hands on a towel.

"Couple of days."

Draco gaped at her in the mirror. "Days? No, no. I can't go home this way. My father would…" he trailed off and shifted uncomfortably. "I'll… I'll have to heal them with the Dittany before I leave… but thank you for the demonstration," he added in a rush.

"Sure. I…"

"Sweet Salazar's ghost, there's another one!" Draco hollered at the sight of a large orange cat staring up at them from the doorway. He grabbed Hermione by the shoulders and thrust her out in front of him like a human shield and she laughed before elbowing him in the ribs.

"Crookshanks is much too old to do you any harm," she said as she wriggled free of Draco's grip and stooped down to pet the animal's head. "I'm sorry if we woke you, Crooksie old boy."

The elderly feline lumbered past her into the room and stopped at Draco's feet. Draco looked down at him guardedly as he turned his yellow eyes up at him.

"What?" Draco demanded of him and Crookshanks head-butted his shin affectionately in response and then wound his aging, fluffy girth around Draco's legs possessively before waddling off again. Draco frowned down at the tufts of orange fur left behind and clinging to his trousers. "Can I change into a pair of my jeans?" he asked, shaking one of his legs in an attempt to dislodge the fur.

Hermione laughed again and stood. "Of course, but everything's downstairs in the living room. And I've got our dinner in stasis down in the kitchen. Would you like to eat now or wait until we've sorted a bit?"

"After we've sorted a bit, I think," Draco answered following Hermione out of the bathroom back into her bedroom. "What did you bring us?"

"Indian. Wizards have Indian food of course, but Muggles make it so much better," she answered, going swiftly to the door. "I ordered spicy and mild. I wasn't sure what your palette could handle. Have you ever eaten Indian food before?"

"Astoria had me try it with her once. We had chicken teacup or something or other," Draco replied as he stood at the foot of Hermione's bed and looked around.

"Chicken Tikka Masala?" she asked leaning on the door frame. Draco shrugged.

"Maybe? It was a while ago." He continued to cast his gaze about her room. "This bed is too small," he said with an accusing finger pointed at it.

"It fits me just fine," Hermione replied, crossing her arms over her chest, "Now com…"

Draco threw himself into the bed and shimmied down to get comfortable in it.

"What the hell are you doing? Get out of my bed," Hermione ordered, stepping back up to the bedside. Draco folded his arms behind his head and grinned at her.

"Make me."

"Draco Malfoy, you will get out of my bed this instant," she warned and then laughed out loud.

"What's so funny?"

"I…I just never would've guessed in a million years that I'd have had to tell _you_ to get out of _my_ bed," Hermione said shaking her head.

"You thought you'd have to tell me to get _in_ it, though?" Draco smirked.

"Oh my god…just get out," Hermione huffed.

"Or what?" he said waggling his brows.

"Or I'll have Odin get you out."

The smile slipped from Draco's face. "You wouldn't."

Hermione leaned forward with her hands on the mattress. She brought her face close to his and said in a menacing voice, "Try me."

Draco narrowed his eyes at her for a moment and then smiled again. "You know you could just join me..."

"Oh for Heaven's sake," she said, pushing off the bed and throwing her hands in the air. "Odin!"

"Okay, okay, okay! I'm up, I'm up," Draco said as he scrambled out of the bed. Hermione shoved at him to usher him toward the door.

"Downstairs," she demanded as she pushed him down the hall.

"I've never had a woman react so violently to an invitation to take a kip before," Draco teased. Hermione snorted.

"I'm sure you were only interested in a kip. Now go. I'll finish showing you the downstairs and then we can get started on our wardrobes."

Draco slowly tromped down the stairs with Hermione right behind.

"So now where?" he asked at the bottom.

"This way," Hermione answered walking past him back toward the sitting room. "Kitchen and dining room are through there," she said pointing to a doorway, "We'll visit them when we eat." When she came to the sitting room she turned a corner and Draco followed to find himself in a bright and rather spacious living room.

"Do you rent or own this place?" Draco asked as he stood in awe of the beautifully decorated room.

"I own it," Hermione replied, looking around proudly. "I purchased it from my parents. This is where I grew-up. Though, it doesn't really look the same. I've redecorated and remodeled nearly everything."

Draco hummed as he walked further into the room. "Whoa," he exclaimed as he looked upon a large television flanked by multiple shelves of DVD cases along the side wall. "Are those all movies?" he asked, going to the shelves and running a hand along the cases. Hermione came up beside him.

"Yes. I have over a thousand titles. They're like books in moving photo form, so…" she shrugged sheepishly. "It's something of an obsession."

Draco simply continued to goggle at the shelves and pulled a case. He raised an eyebrow at the cover and turned it over. Hermione watched amused as Draco read the movie summary.

"Muggles have cars that can work as time machines?" Draco asked in shock when he finished reading. Hermione laughed and snatched the DVD from him.

"Only in movies," she said as she replaced the case on the shelf while Draco pulled another. He squinted at the title.

" _The Fast and the_ … What is this one about?" he asked keenly. Hermione tilted her head to see it and smiled.

"It's about American street racers."

Draco's eyes went wide with a greedy glint. "Can we watch this?"

"If we have time after we're done sorting then sure," she answered. Draco looked longingly back down at the case in his hands and nodded. He set it back on the shelf and Hermione looked at him thoughtfully.

"Before you leave tonight, I'll show you how to work the television and DVD player. That way while I'm at work you can come over and watch anything you want. What do you think?" Hermione suggested.

Draco grinned like a fool and looked back up at the shelves. "I think I love you."

Hermione scoffed a laugh and went to the other end of the room that was filled with piles of garment and shoe boxes.

"Just you get to sorting, lover boy," she said, tossing a box at him. Draco caught it and winked at her before opening it to begin their night's work.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 **A/N: Sorry I didn't update sooner...I was in the woods for a few days with absolutely no internet service. It was rough. Hope you enjoy!**


	7. Dinner and a Movie

"For someone who works to end forced labor you are one hell of a slave driver, you know that?" Draco grouched from his place seated on Hermione's living room floor as he fumbled with the umpteenth garment box she'd tossed at him. Hermione frowned at him.

"You're the one that insisted on buying so many bloody clothes," she snapped back. "And belts. Let's not forget the belts...all two hundred and twenty-six of them!" She flung a fistful of belt straps at him. Draco ducked them and scowled back at her.

"You got just as many!"

"Because you made me!"

"They'll look good on you!"

"I didn't need them!"

"Yes, you did!" Draco shouted, chucking the now empty box behind him to the trash pile. "And it wouldn't even matter how much we got if you'd simply let me use magic to sort it all. We'd have been done ages ago instead of sitting here getting cricks in our backs and listening to stupid bug music!"

"It's only been an hour and a half," Hermione said, crossing her arms, "and it's not bug music."

"The band's named after bugs…whatever. I don't care. It's annoying," Draco said, wrinkling his nose at the shirt that was refusing to fold correctly. "You actually _enjoy_ listening to this?"

"Not particularly. I put it on because you want to learn about Muggles and they're the most famous Muggle British band of all time," Hermione said seriously.

"They're terrible," he said as he gave up on the shirt and chucked it into 'his' pile. He sneered at the still large pile of boxes before them. "Gah. Do Muggles not believe in hiring people to do stuff like this for them?" he asked grumpily.

"Only wealthy Muggles," Hermione answered, plucking up another box.

"I am a wealthy Muggle!" Draco replied, crossing his own arms with a humph. Hermione blinked at him and slowly lowered the box in her hands. A smile started to spread across her face and Draco's cheeks flushed a little.

"You're a Muggle now, hmm?" Hermione said teasingly.

"Oh, you know what I meant," he huffed, snatching another box from the pile between them. Hermione simply continued to grin as she went back to sorting. Draco narrowed his eyes at her a moment and then opened the box in his hands.

"Oh, thank Merlin," he said, sagging a little in relief, "It's about bloody time."

He shook out the pair of jeans he'd taken from the box and stood.

"Oh good, you finally found a pair," Hermione said looking back up at him. "Go to the bathroom and put them...Draco!"

"What?" Draco asked innocently as he undid his trousers where he stood and let them fall to the floor. He toed off his shoes and then kicked off the trousers from his ankles.

" _What_?" Hermione repeated him. "You're in your underpants in my living room!"

Draco shrugged. "So? They cover just as much as those swim trunks you had me try on."

Hermione placed a hand to her forehead as Draco tugged his jeans up his legs.

"Is my sexiness too much for you?" he smirked as he zipped up with a little bounce. Hermione shook her head in her hand.

"You are going to make me batty."

"Well, you're making me barmy with manual labor and trivial musical lyrics. We'll be quite the pair," Draco said, looking down to admire the jeans on his legs.

"I need a drink," Hermione said, standing and tossing the skirt she was holding unfolded into 'her' pile. "You?"

"Anything to get me a break from this," Draco replied with another scowl at the boxes.

He waited then as Hermione turned off the music and then followed her into the kitchen. He looked about while she dug around in a cabinet and then seated himself on a high stool beside an island in the middle.

"Do you always keep hard liquor in your house?" he asked with a sly grin at the sight of the gin bottle in Hermione's hand.

"I keep it around for emergencies," she said as she placed the bottle and two small tumblers on the island counter. Draco raised an eyebrow.

"Am I an emergency, then?"

Hermione uncapped the bottle. "I'm not sure what you are," she answered while she poured.

"You told that devil cat that I was a friend. Am I not?" Draco asked, taking the tumbler Hermione held out to him. Hermione furrowed her brow slightly as she silently recapped the bottle and sat on a stool across from him.

"Odin understands the word 'friend'," she finally replied and then took a small sip of her drink. Draco tapped his finger against the side of his glass as he regarded her.

"So I'm not?"

Hermione looked at him and set down her glass. "I was under the impression that you were my boss and I your paid employee. A paid employee, mind you, that you've despised nearly your whole life and, until recently, found so repulsive it caused you nightmares."

Draco was silent for a moment and then pursed his lips and gave a curt nod. He stared down at the gin in his hand and then in one quick motion, brought the drink to his mouth and slammed it down in one gulp. He hissed slightly at the burn of it and then set down the tumbler and slid it across the counter to Hermione.

"I need another," he said pointing to the bottle. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him and Draco ran a hand nervously through his hair and rubbed at his scalp. "Look, I'll need more if we're gonna talk about this shite," he said uncomfortably.

Hermione eyed him for another moment and then opened the bottle and poured him another. She slid it carefully back to him and he immediately swallowed it down.

Hermione watched him curiously then as Draco licked his lips and leaned forward with his right elbow propped up, glass still in his hand.

"I didn't despise you," he said after a stretched minute of silence. He kept his eyes focused on the glass in his hand as he turned it to catch the kitchen light like a prism. "I envied you."

"You insulted me constantly," Hermione said unmoved. Draco nodded.

"I did." He set the glass down and glared at it. "I did," he repeated, his voice cracking. After another minute of silence Draco pushed back his left sleeve and looked shamefully down at his arm. "There are a lot of things that I've done that I wish I could take back."

His lip trembled slightly as he screwed up his face and inhaled sharply.

Hermione's hard gaze softened slightly and she reached forward for his tumbler. She filled it without saying a word and slid it back into his hand. Draco glanced at it and smiled weakly as he puffed a shaky breath. He shook his sleeve back down and sniffed loudly as he picked up the drink. He held it up.

"Cheers?" he said with a flat chuckle. Hermione picked hers up and clinked it against his.

"Cheers," she whispered with a small smile as they made eye contact again. They held their stare for brief moment and then tossed their drinks back together.

"So," Draco said with another deep breath as he slid the empty glass away from him, "where's this wonderful Muggle Indian food you promised? Did you order chicken teacup marsala?"

Hermione grinned as she hopped down from her stool. "As a matter of fact I did," she said as she went to a counter where several paper bags were resting and pulled them forward. "I ordered several dishes, actually," she added as Draco stood and joined her side at the counter.

Hermione pulled two plates from an overhead cabinet and set them beside the bags. "Would you like to try a bit of everything to start?" she asked as she reached into the bags and removed the take away containers of their dinner.

"I'll take whatever you're willing to give me," Draco answered, leaning with his elbows back on the counter beside her. Hermione looked up at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Spicy or mild?" she asked.

"I like things spicy," Draco said with a smirk. Hermione simply looked back at the plates as she dished the food onto them.

"Noted," she said quietly.

"What about you?" Draco asked nudging her leg with his knee.

Hermione let a grin spread across her face as she continued to prepare their plates. "I prefer spicy as well."

Draco hummed as he watched her. "Noted," he said quietly. Hermione was still grinning when she handed him his plate. He took it and looked down at it.

"Chikcken Tikka Masala. Malai Kofta. Chaat. Jeera rice," Hermione said matter-of-factly, pointing to each small portion of food on the plate in his hands.

"I'm not gonna lie," Draco said charily, "this looks awful."

"You of all people should know not to judge something just because it _looks_ bad," Hermione said, turning to pick up her own plate.

"It looks like vomit," Draco chuckled, "I'm not judging, I'm stating fact."

"Just try it," Hermione said thrusting a fork at him. Draco raised his brow at the fork.

"Feed me?" he asked playfully.

Hermione shook her head at him, "I don't think so…"

Draco gave her an exaggerated pout and puppy eyes. "Pwease?" he begged tweely.

Hermione stared at him a moment and then with a relenting huff stabbed the fork into a piece of his chicken and held it up to his mouth. Draco smiled in triumph and locked eyes with her as he leaned forward and scrapped the bite from the fork with his teeth. He licked his lips and then silently chewed the bite as they stared at each other.

"Well?" Hermione asked as she shifted a bit on her feet.

"Spicy," he said rolling his tongue around his mouth, "and…good. Quite good actually. More." He opened his mouth at her again and she chuckled and pushed the fork against his chest.

"You can feed the rest to yourself," she said as he grabbed the fork from her and pouted again. Hermione laughed.

"That won't keep working."

"Don't be so sure," Draco said, batting his eyes at her.

"I lived with Ron's whiny arse for years," Hermione replied pointing her fork at him, "I think I can handle _you_."

"You can handle me anytime you want," Draco said with a wink, stabbing another piece of chicken and then stuffing it in his mouth.

"I'm going to need more gin," Hermione said going back to the island. She set down her plate and sat. Draco went to his stool and hesitated.

"Do you not usually eat in your dining room?" he asked curiously. Hermione shrugged.

"It's a little formal for take away. But we can eat in there if you'd rather?"

Draco shook his head as he sat down. "No this is fine." He looked at his plate for a moment and then smiled up at Hermione as she poured herself another drink. "Thank you for this," he said sincerely.

Hermione stilled her hand and nodded. "You're welcome," she said softly. She tilted the bottle at him as a question of him wanting more.

"No. If I have much more I may end up passed-out on your couch," he said shaking his head.

"Not a big drinker then?" Hermione asked setting aside the bottle and starting in on her meal.

"Oh no, I drink. I just can't drink a lot."

Hermione hummed and they ate for a bit in silence.

"So…" Draco finally spoke, "what do you have planned for our next outing?"

"I've got a few ideas," Hermione answered. "A museum day maybe? I think you'd appreciate the Tate and British Museum. Haven't decided."

"How did I know you'd want to haul me around to museums?" Draco grinned at her.

"I like museums," Hermione said slightly bristled, "and you'd learn loads about Muggle art and culture and history."

"Couldn't I learn the same information from those books of yours upstairs and save my legs from a day of walking?" Draco asked.

Hermione frowned at her plate. "I suppose so. Guess you don't need my assistance anymore. You can just read my books and watch my movies and you'll be all set. I'm glad we figured this out now before I wasted any more of my time planning outings with you."

She got up and took her plate to the sink. She tossed it in with an angry clink and then stood staring at it with her back to Draco. He watched her silently for a moment and then brought his own plate to the sink and set it in gently on top of hers.

"I didn't mean to upset you," he said quietly, "I just thought…"

"No," Hermione interrupted, still staring into the sink, "you're right. Museums are lame. Who'd want to spend all day walking around looking at boring exhibits with me? Stupid." She shook her head and closed her eyes. "Gods, he was right," she whispered.

Draco furrowed his brow. "Who was right?"

Hermione inhaled deeply. "Bryce," she answered, "He told me I was boring… that I _'wouldn't know fun if it bit me in the arse.'"_

"He was a douche bag," Draco said with an annoyed scowl. Hermione let out a small laugh.

"Yes, well…you've made sure to remind me of how I'm 'no fun' several times already," she replied with a sad huff.

"I'm just playing around," Draco said, bumping her shoulder with his, "Just trying to get you to realize how fun you are."

"You barely know me," Hermione said finally looking up at him.

"True for now," Draco shrugged, "but I'm pretty confident you'd know it if I bit you in the arse."

Hermione blinked at him in shock for a moment and then burst out laughing. She doubled over against the counter and held her stomach as her laughter echoed loudly around the kitchen. Draco smiled widely beside her and then started to laugh with her.

"Just imagine you and I in a museum together," he said, pushing her shoulder, "You'd try to be all proper and quiet and I'd make some sarcastic comment about a naked pygmy statue or something and…"

Hermione's laughter doubled in volume at the words 'naked pygmy' and she braced herself on the sink ledge as she struggled for breath.

"Oh my god….oh my god..." Hermione choked out as she continued to laugh.

"Yep," Draco said with a shake of his head, "no fun this one. No fun at all. Only laughs hysterically at the drop of a bloody hat."

Hermione finally started to calm and gave Draco a warm, genuine smile. "You are ridiculous," she said without malice. Draco simply continued to smile at her as she composed herself and straightened her clothing.

"Feel better?" he asked her when she finally gave a contented sigh.

"I needed that," Hermione admitted as she spelled the dishes to clean themselves, "thank you."

"Glad I could be of service," Draco said looking away from her to the dishes. "Shouldn't you be making me scrub those the Muggle way or something?"

"We can tackle Muggle cleaning another day," she replied, making her way back to the living room. Draco followed and groaned loudly at the sight of the box pile again. Hermione frowned at the pile as well and pulled out her wand.

"Have you learned an appreciation for what Muggles must go through when they make wildly irresponsible clothing purchases?" she asked, tilting her head at Draco.

"Gods, yes," he answered readily.

"So you won't mind if I finish this off with magic, then?"

"Gods, no."

Hermione smirked a little then as she flicked her wand causing the boxes to empty their contents. Another flick sent the clothing and shoes zooming past them down the hall and up the stairs.

"Where's my stuff going?" Draco asked as he watched a pair of trainers float by.

"Guest room closet," Hermione answered as she shooed Odin away as he appeared from behind the couch and tried to jump into one of the boxes. He scampered away with a tiny hiss and Hermione shrunk the left behind boxes and tissue paper. She stooped down and scooped the tiny pile into her hands and dumped it into a bin near the door. She stood and turned back to Draco with a satisfied sigh.

"Now then…ready for your movie?"

Draco pulled his eyes from their careful watch on the kitten bounding out the door and looked at her. His grey orbs sparkled as they widened. "Really?" he asked sounding awestruck. "You…you're really going to let me watch the car racing movie?"

"I said I would," Hermione replied, walking to the television. She glanced over her shoulder at a stupefied looking Draco and smiled. She waved a hand at him for him to join her. "Come here and I'll show you how to use the entertainment system."

Draco looked longingly at the television and then stepped over to her side.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Hermione sat in a large armchair with her legs curled under her as she stared at Draco as he watched the movie. He was sitting at the very edge of her couch, leaning as far forward as was possible to do without falling to the floor, eyes glued to the television. He was completely enthralled and his face kept changing expressions with the intensity of the scenes.

"Are you enjoying your first full movie?" Hermione asked with a smile. Draco didn't answer as he watched the cars race past on the screen. "Draco?"

He made no indication that he'd heard her. Hermione bit her lip and stood up. She went to the couch, sat beside him and waved her hand in front of his face. Draco simply moved his head to see around it. Hermione sighed amused as she lowered her hand.

"The music in this movie is so much better than that shite you had on earlier," he said suddenly.

"You think so?" Hermione said. "I'll have to remember that for next time. Would you like to…" she trailed off when she noticed his complete lack of interest in her words. "Draco?" she tried again. When she got no response, she looked at him thoughtfully and grinned to herself.

"So..." she said casually, "I thought maybe instead of museums for our next outing we could just come here again and I could show you how to have Muggle sex."

Draco remained absorbed in the movie, his eyes still focused ahead. "What?" he asked distractedly. "Did you say something?"

Hermione silently giggled to herself. "I said we should have sex," she said a little louder.

"Sex?" Draco asked without thought as he scooted even further forward and gawked at the movie. "That's nice."

"Yeah," Hermione said, her body shaking with silent laughter, "We could have sex to rave music in my car."

Draco finally looked at her. "What about your car?" he asked with interest. Hermione grinned at him and started laughing.

"What?" Draco asked confused.

"You really have a thing for cars, don't you?" she teased.

"Shut up," he said, his cheeks flushing as he turned his attention back to the television.

"It's not a bad thing," Hermione said, bumping his shoulder. "I'm just surprised."

"I just find them fascinating," Draco said as he watched, "They're fast and powerful and sleek... It's stupid, I know, but..."

"No," Hermione interrupted, "it's not stupid at all. Many Muggles are very interested in cars. Especially men."

Draco didn't say anything more and they sat and watched the movie silently for a while until Hermione spoke again.

"When's your birthday, exactly? Next month sometime, right?" she asked loud enough to pull his attention from the movie. He looked over at her.

"It's next Saturday actually. June fifth," he answered.

"Next Saturday, huh?" Hermione said to herself. She twisted her lip and squinted her eyes at him in thought. "Do you have plans?"

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Can't say that I do. Am I about to?"

Hermione nodded. "If it's okay with you, I think I'd like that to be our next learning day."

"I'm not spending my birthday walking around museums," Draco said emphatically. Hermione shook her head as she cozied down into the couch and stared at the television.

"No," she agreed, "no museums."

"Then what?" he asked intrigued.

A wicked smirk graced Hermione's face as she answered, "You'll just have to wait and see."

"Muggle sex?" Draco asked hopefully. Hermione simply burst out laughing again.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 **A/N: Wow...you readers are just...WOW. You're so amazing! You overwhelmed me with your great reviews and Favs and Follows. I'm really enjoying writing this, so it's wonderful to know that you're enjoying reading it. Thank you so much!**

 **And for those that read my oneshot, _Sucks for Smith,_ thank you as well. Totally blown away by how much people seemed to like it. I am so happy! Now, a** **number of you suggested that I ought to have made it about Draco lying in the Ministry and then trying to convince Hermione to marry him. It WAS going to be that...until I realized that would be a long story and I have too much on my plate with 3 stories already. So I changed it to a sweet oneshot. The future is uncertain though...so I may continue that story if the mood strikes me. :)**


	8. Flying Pigs and Vampires

"Where are you going?"

Draco carefully replaced the porcelain container of Floo powder on the mantel before him and cradled the small handful of the glittering substance he'd extracted from it in his hand before turning to face his father.

"Out," he answered simply. Lucius Malfoy's right eyebrow ticked upward as he regarded his son and walked toward him.

"I gathered," Lucius said smoothly, stopping at Draco's side and leaning forward on the walking stick in his left hand, "I asked where."

Draco shrugged as he turned back to the fireplace. "Wherever I want," he replied coolly. He made to step forward then but was halted by the walking stick suddenly thrust out before him to block his path into the Floo.

"Please move that," Draco requested flatly, his eyes locked straight ahead. Lucius did not move.

"You have not left this house but a handful of times since you graduated and yet of late I find you sneaking out almost daily. I want to know where to," Lucius said with the ghost of a warning tone within his voice.

"I'm not _sneaking_ anywhere," Draco said back evenly, "Now kindly move aside."

Lucius moved the stick to rest against Draco's chest. "Tell me where?" he asked with narrowed eyes. Draco's nostrils flared as he finally glared sideways at his father.

"To London," he said through gritted teeth.

"Whe-" Before Lucius could finish his question, Draco took hold of the walking stick and shoved it down and away from. He quickly stepped into the Floo, throwing down the powder, and disappeared into the resulting flash of green flames.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"You want to head out for a bite?" Harry asked as he poked his face into the crack he'd opened in Hermione's office door.

Hermione looked up from her reports and nodded. "Sure. I was thinking soup today? There's that little place on the corner."

Harry shrugged. "Fine by me," he replied, opening the door further and holding it as Hermione came around her desk with her bag.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Draco stepped out of Hermione's Floo and was immediately smacked in the face with a floating piece of paper. He snatched it from the air with an irritated scowl and brushed at his clothes. He stood still and glared at Hermione's cherry wood floors as he took several calming breaths. A flash of grey in his peripheral snapped him to attention and he darted his eyes around the room.

"Hermione?" he called out only to hear his words echo in the obviously empty house. He frowned a little and finally looked at the paper clutched in his hand. The frown softened into a small smile as he unfolded it and read Hermione's feminine script.

 _Draco,_

 _I hope you had a lovely weekend._

 _Per our agreement, you may help yourself to any of my Muggle books and DVDs and may use the entertainment system._ _You may also help yourself to any of the food in the kitchen._

 _Now, I want to make it clear that I've specially warded the house for your presence. You may go into the living room, sitting room, upstairs lounge, kitchen, dining room, first floor bathroom, and the guest bedroom._

 _I_ _highly_ _recommend you do not try to venture anywhere else in the house without me._

 _You will not enjoy the consequences should you attempt it._

 _I will be home from work around six._

 _\- H_

 _P.S. Odin knows you now, so he should be friendly. Don't give him a reason not to be._

He smirked at the last line just as he felt something rub against his leg. He glanced down and startled slightly at the sight of Odin pawing at the end of one of his shoelaces. Draco folded the note, stuffed it into his pocket and then, taking a chance, bent down to scratch the top of the kitten's fluffy head.

Odin immediately startled at the contact and darted like a flash across the room and disappeared behind a set of long curtains only to appear a moment later at the top of them, clinging to the rod, fur puffed up and wild eyed. Draco shook his head at the animal and backed slowly out of the room.

"Crazy little shite," he muttered to himself as he made his way into the hallway toward the stairs. He finally turned around and grinned up at the second floor. He jogged up the stairs and when he made the landing, stopped to see Crookshanks standing in Hermione's bedroom doorway staring him. Draco eyed the dark bedroom beyond and took a step forward, but then stopped and laughed when the cat laid down purposefully in the middle of the doorway.

"Are you standing guard then?" Draco asked the cat. Crookshanks merely blinked his wizened yellow eyes at him. Draco huffed a little and turned toward the guest room door. He remained in the hall standing just outside of the room and pulled his wand.

" _Accio_ my jeans," he said with a quick flick. Nothing happened.

Draco's face twisted with confused annoyance. " _Accio_ jeans!" he said more forcefully, making sure to execute the wand movement precisely. Still nothing happened and Draco held his wand up to his face and narrowed his eyes at it.

"Oh, no you didn't," he smirked to himself. He gripped his wand a little tighter and flourished it.

" _Lumos!"_

Not even a spark. Draco slashed his wand shouting out a series of spells in quick succession only to still have nothing happen. He stood in the hall and considered his wand in his hands for a long moment and then gave a resigned sigh.

"So it's Muggle all the way then," he said, putting away his wand and finally stepping into the room. "Clever girl."

He stopped midstep when he saw the bed and smiled.

A pair of his jeans was already laid out on top of it.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Hermione idly stirred the bowl of soup in front of her before sipping a small spoonful.

"So," she started, looking across the table at Harry and setting down her spoon, "How's Gin holdin' up?"

Harry shrugged as he stirred at his own bowl. "She's still having the false contractions. Molly moved in over the weekend to 'help out'." He rolled his eyes at his own comment and Hermione stifled a giggle.

"So Molly's being Molly then?" she grinned. Harry gave her a 'that's-an-understatement' look and then took a bite of his soup.

"She's driving us both barmy, Hermione," he added after he swallowed. "She keeps insisting that the baby's coming at any moment."

"I thought Gin wasn't due until next month?"

"She's not," Harry answered. "Merlin knows I love Molly, but..." he trailed off with a frustrated shake of his head and took another bite.

Hermione simply smiled at him and picked her spoon back up.

"So, how was your weekend?" Harry asked. "Did you finish that new potion you were telling me about?"

Hermione shook her head as she swallowed her mouthful of soup. "No, I didn't even make it down into the lab this weekend."

Harry raised an eyebrow at her. "No? What did you do instead?"

Hermione shifted a bit in her seat and shrugged lightly as she stared at her bowl. Harry smirked and narrowed his eyes at her.

"Hermione...what did you do this weekend?"

"I uh...I was up rather late Friday night, so I slept in on Saturday and then spent the day cleaning and resetting my wards. And then Sunday I was busy making arrangements about some Muggle stuff," she answered quietly.

"Why were you up late on Friday?" Harry asked.

"Well…I uh, might've had someone over." She grimaced a little and then glanced up at Harry whose smirk had morphed into a wide grin.

"Someone…who?"

Hermione shrugged again. "Just a friend."

Harry leveled his gaze at her. "It's not like you to be so evasive. Everything okay?"

"I think so," she answered tentatively. "I hope so."

Harry furrowed his brow a little. "Either it's okay or it's not. Is this _friend_ bothering you? Do I need to arrest someone?"

Hermione chuckled. "No, not yet."

"Then what's going on?" Harry asked seriously, setting down his spoon. Hermione sighed heavily as she stared at her lunch.

"I'm helping a pureblood wizard learn Muggle activities and culture," she answered truthfully. She continued to gaze at her bowl as she worried her bottom lip between her teeth.

Harry arched an eyebrow and Hermione placed her head in her hands. "So, wha-"

"It's just...he barely knows me," she blurted out, "Well, he's known me for years, but he doesn't really know me. You know? But he acts like we've been friends forever and we have most definitely NOT been friends before now and he says these things that makes me think he's interested in me, but then he always has this, this, this look and I can never tell if he's joking or being serious and I'm so confused because one minute he's playful and the next he's serious and he calls me an orphan in one sentence and lovely in the next and...oh gods, Harry, I feel like...I don't know.

"I feel like I like him when he smiles at me like he does and when he makes these little innuendos but then I remember who he was and remember Bryce doing the same thing and even Ron and they're all the same and I'm plain old, no fun, bookworm me and it all ends with me alone, buying another cat, wearing a boring pantsuit while I go to work by myself in my miniscule, terrible, tiny, little office with no window every day."

Harry stared back at her with wide eyes. "Uh...wow," he said gently. "Been holdin' that in have you?"

Hermione made a whimpering noise behind her hands and Harry laughed.

"Why are you laughing," she demanded, lowering her hands to cast him a sulky glare. Harry looked at her adoringly.

"You are just funny is all."

Hermione's eyes started to narrow further and he quickly added, "You're funny that you think you are in any way boring."

Hermione cocked an eyebrow and Harry went on.

"Hermione, you are the most interesting person I've ever met. You can do things with magic that blow me away. You even have a bloody potions lab in your basement. How many people do you know that have actual labs in their basements?"

"I'm not sure that really qualifies me as -"

"And then," Harry cut her off, "You singlehandedly started your own office in the Ministry. You've gotten what… _five_ new laws pushed through the Wizengamot?"

"Six," Hermione said with a humble blush.

Harry grinned teasingly back. "Though, I suppose it does help being on a first name basis with the _savior of the Wizarding world_ and all..." he said with a waggle of his brows.

Hermione gave him a playful kick to his shins and he laughed again. "And then of course there's the fact that you're just brilliant and caring and beautiful. Hermione, any bloke that doesn't appreciate you is a moron."

"You sound like my mum," Hermione muttered back, though her mouth had risen into a small smile. She sighed and began stirring her soup again. Harry watched her for moment and then nudged her leg under the table.

"Who is this bloke, anyway? I know him?"

Hermione looked up at him. "Yes, you know him," she answered with a wary expression.

"And…who is he?" Harry coaxed. Hermione worried her bottom lip again as she looked at him. She opened her mouth to respond when her mobile suddenly rang loudly in her bag.

"Sorry," she said as she dug around in the bag to retrieve the phone. She pulled it out and her eyes went wide when she saw the caller ID. "Oh! I'm so sorry, Harry. I really must take this."

Harry waved at her indicating that he didn't mind and merely continued eating his lunch as Hermione answered the call.

"Hello?... Yes… Oh, thank you so much for getting back to me so quickly. I…"

Harry watched intently as Hermione paused to listen to the person on the other end. Her face went from anxious to happy in an instant.

"You're sure? This Saturday? Oh, my goodness. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I know it was short notice and all and…of course I know, but still… yes, I'll tell him… You're sure this is no trouble? I wouldn't want to… Alright…yes, I will…I always do…Thank you again. This really means a great deal to me. I owe you…Nonsense, we'll pay regular price…I wouldn't dream…oh, alright… Is there anything else you need from me before…oh…his, his name?"

Hermione paused her conversation to stare wild-eyed at Harry across the table. Harry raised his eyebrows at her and she audibly gulped as she swallowed before answering the person on the other end of the phone.

"Do…do you really need his name _now_? I'm sure that… oh, I see. Well… his name is…" she paused once more and her face pulled into an apologetic grimace as Harry eyed her curiously and spooned another bite of soup into his mouth.

"His name," she said rather more shrilly than she intended, "is Draco Malfoy."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Draco furrowed his brow at the remote control in his hand and scratched at his scalp.

"Damn it all," he cursed to himself from his place on Hermione's living room couch. "Which bloody button was it?"

He pointed the remote towards the television and began pushing buttons at random. "Come on, play already," he snarled at the blank blue screen. He huffed a breath when still nothing happened and tried to think of what Hermione had told him.

" _If you have trouble, you can read the users' manual,"_ he voiced her remembered words.

Draco got up from the couch and went back to the entertainment center and pulled down the small white booklet Hermione had mentioned from one of the shelves beside the DVD cases. He thumbed it open with a scowl.

"Easy enough for a toddler, my arse," he grumbled. He glared at the pages as he read out loud. " _'In order to operate your components you must program your remote using either brand code entry, direct code entry, manual code search and entry or auto code search and'_ …what in the actual fuck!?"

He growled as he abandoned that page and leafed roughly through the small book until he came across a labeled drawing of the remote. "Here we go…"

He squinted back and forth between the drawing and the actual remote in his hand. Tongue out in concentration, Draco sought out the INPUT button and, with the remote determinedly aimed at the television, pressed it. The screen came to life with the movie's start menu and Draco whooped in triumph.

"Who's the ignorant, boring wizard now, Tori!?" he spat at the television, chucking the manual back at the shelf.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Harry was choking.

Hermione hastily ended her phone conversation and rushed around the table to hit him on the back.

"Breathe, Harry. Just breathe," she said, slightly panicked as Harry spluttered with his hands to his throat. He gave a hard cough and a chunk of potato jettisoned from his mouth to the table. He took several greedy breaths and looked up at Hermione with watery eyes.

"Mal…Malfoy?" he rasped, "You…you're helping Malfoy?"

Hermione slunk back to her seat and gave him a sheepish shrug. "Yes?"

Harry straightened in his chair and pushed his glasses back up his nose. "Malfoy?" he repeated in disbelief. "Draco Malfoy. The same Draco Malfoy that we went to school with?"

"You know another Draco Malfoy?" Hermione sighed. Harry blinked at her at an apparent loss for words. He shook his head.

" _Malfoy?"_

"I think we've established that it's Malfoy," Hermione said with a touch of annoyance. Harry looked shell-shocked as he ran a hand through his hair and leaned back.

"How did…I don't… _what?"_ he stammered. Hermione frowned at him slightly as she went back to stirring her soup.

"I'm helping Draco learn how to do-"

 _"Draco?"_ Harry's eyes went a touch wider. "You call him Draco?"

"He asked me to," Hermione said. "He's much more casual than I would have thought. For instance, when he was over on Friday-"

"Wait! You had Draco Malfoy in your house with you by yourself!?" he said angrily.

"Yes," Hermione answered defiantly, "In fact he's probably at my house right now as well."

Harry openly gaped at her. "Hermione," he scolded, "that is so dangerous. What the hell are you..."

"You don't think I've taken precautions?" she interrupted with a fist to the table. "You know damn well how intricate my wards are."

"He's a Death Eater."

 _"Was_ a Death Eater," Hermione corrected. "He's different. He-"

Harry shook his head with a disgruntled scoff and Hermione scowled at him.

"You vouched for him at his trial," she nearly spat at him.

"So?" Harry said, throwing down his spoon, sending little sloshes of soup over the side of his bowl, "Just because I didn't want the git going to Azkaban doesn't mean I want him to-"

"Don't want him to what!?" Hermione cut him off sharply. Harry's glare softened and he blinked back at her.

"I don't want him to hurt you," he said after a minute. Hermione's angry, rigid posture relaxed and she slumped back in her seat.

"I'm just teaching him how to do Muggle things," she said quietly after another stretch of silence. Harry furrowed his brow a bit.

"For what purpose?" he asked seriously.

Hermione gave a weak shrug. "I really don't know his motivation. He just sought me out and asked if I would help him."

"He just sought you out," Harry echoed dubiously. "We haven't seen him in five years and he all of a sudden shows up on your doorstep and says ' _Hey, Hermione. Show me Muggle things'_?"

"Six years," Hermione corrected with a tiny smirk that Harry frowned at.

"Okay, six years then…"

Hermione's face went serious again. "And it wasn't on my doorstep. We met by chance at a party a few weeks back. I showed him how to use a trampoline."

"You showed Draco Malfoy how to use a trampoline."

"Are you just going to keep repeating everything I tell you?" Hermione asked, crossing her arms.

"I'm sorry," Harry sighed, shaking his head a little, "I'm just having a bit of trouble wrapping my mind around this."

"You're not the only one," Hermione muttered. Harry watched her resume picking at her lunch and twisted his mouth in thought.

"You shag him?"

Hermione's head shot back up. "Of course not! We've only seen each other a few times and-"

"So you're _considering_ shagging him then?" Harry asked, picking up his drink and casually taking a sip.

"I…" Hermione's mouth opened and closed several times as she blinked at him. "I don't…no. No of course not. Don't be ridiculous," she finally answered with a forced chuckle. "I mean…he's Malfoy and I'm…well I don't think I have to tell you that I'm not exactly his type."

"You said he makes innuendos?" Harry asked with another pensive look.

"He says little things. Like he wants to see me try on swimwear and tells me my arse looks good and-"

Harry spluttered on his drink.

"-and he wants me to show him how to have Muggle sex," Hermione finished despite his reaction. Harry's jaw was open as he gawked at her. He snapped it shut and shook his head with an apologetic smirk.

"Holy shit," he said with a whistle. "If anyone but you'd told me, I wouldn't have believed it."

"Believed what?"

"Malfoy's mad for you," Harry laughed.

"That's just it, Harry," Hermione said uncertainly, "I don't know that he is. I think that's just how he talks. We never really got to see him without the sneering act before, but…Well, I think he's just crass in this quasi-innocent sort of way and says whatever he wants."

Harry's smirk got wider. "And he wants you to show him how to have sex."

"Muggle sex," she clarified.

"There's a difference?" Harry laughed again. Hermione hid her head in her hands again.

"What are you supposed to do with him this Saturday, anyway?" Harry asked with a nudge to her leg under the table again.

"It's his birthday," she muffled behind her hands, "so I arranged a surprise for him."

Harry tilted his face to the sky and held his hand over his brow and squinted his eyes. Hermione lowered her hands and looked at him curiously.

"Harry, what are you doing?" she asked as he appeared to scan the heavens.

"I'm looking for the flying pigs," he answered.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Hermione stepped out of her Floo to the sounds of a dramatic musical score. She hastily pulled off her work robes and hung them with her bag near the door before making her way to the living room.

"Draco?" she said, stopping in the door frame to see Draco laid out across her couch, face turned to the television, a great ginger cat in his lap and a tiny grey one on his shoulder. His eyes darted to hers at the sound of her voice and he smiled.

"Your cats have taken me hostage," he said.

"I can see that," Hermione chuckled, taking a step into the room. "Did you have a productive day?"

"This is the third movie I've gotten to. Then I tried my hand at making myself a Muggle lunch like you suggested. You're little notes on all of the kitchen doohickeys were helpful. Though I did have a bit of trouble with the microthingy."

"The microwave?" she started as she leaned out the doorframe to see the kitchen. "What did…oh my god," she gasped at the sight of the blackened microwave with its partially melted door still hanging open. "What the hell did you do!?"

"It didn't seem to like the can of soup I put in it."

"You put in the whole can?" Hermione asked, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"You didn't specify that I couldn't," Draco answered unperturbed. Hermione inhaled a calming breath.

"I'll be sure to be more thorough with my instructions in the future," she sighed with a last grieved look at the destroyed appliance.

"I'll buy you a new one," he called out to her. Hermione straightened back up and, with a shake of her head, turned her attention to the movie he had playing.

"This is a...an interesting choice," she commented.

Draco shrugged where he lay and then winced when Odin extended his claws into his shoulder at the movement.

"I was curious to see how Muggles view vampires," he replied, looking back at the screen. "I find their portrayal comical. Really…they think vampires can't touch a crucifix? And what the hell's with the exploding in the sun bit?"

Hermione didn't answer as she furrowed her brow slightly at a rather violent scene and then looked back down at Draco's lounging form as he idly stroked Crookshanks.

"So are you going to join me or are you just going to stare at me all night?" Draco asked without taking his eyes off the screen.

"I…I've had a long day. I think I'll just head up to bed. You can stay until the movie is finished if you like."

Draco looked back at her with a playful grin. "Would you like me to tuck you in?"

Hermione stared back at him for a moment. "Why do you care about Muggle things?" she asked from where she stood. Draco's grin faded.

"I just do."

They stared at each other for a long minute until Hermione finally nodded.

"Well, then…perhaps I'll…I'll see you tomorrow. Good night, Malfoy," she said and then disappeared out the door. Draco furrowed his brow at the empty doorway and then looked down at Crookshanks in his lap.

"Good thing I didn't mention the oven," he muttered to the groggy feline. Crookshanks merely blinked and lowered his head to snuggle against Draco's warmth.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 **A/N: I'm sorry this had to be a bit of a filler chapter. Fun chapter next…Draco's birthday surprise. :)** **Thank you so so much for reading and reviewing!**


	9. Draco's Birthday: Part 1

"Here!" Hermione said, thrusting a pair of jeans, t-shirt and trainers into Draco's arms the moment he stepped out of her Floo Saturday afternoon. "Hurry and change."

Draco juggled the items in his arms and a trainer fell to the floor. He frowned down at it before looking up at Hermione who'd already rushed away down the hall.

"Happy Birthday, Draco," he called out sarcastically as he set his clothes on the side table to sort them out. Hermione came back in with her bag.

"Sorry," she said somewhat breathlessly, "but you're late and we really need to get going to keep our slot."

"Slot for what?" Draco asked, tugging off his button-down shirt and tossing it aside.

Hermione stole a glance at his bare chest before picking up his dropped shoe. "For your surprise of course," she answered.

"It's my birthday, I think you can finally tell me what it is," Draco chuckled, pulling on his t-shirt.

"No," she shook her head, avoiding looking as he then lowered his trousers and kicked them aside, "I'm not telling you until we get there."

He pulled his jeans on quickly and stuffed his ID and credit card into his back pocket. "And how are we getting there?"

Hermione reached into her bag and pulled out a set of keys. "I'm driving us there."

Draco's eyes sparkled as he watched her jingle the keys. "Is that safe?" he teased, bending down to lace up a trainer. Hermione threw his other shoe at him.

"I'm a very safe driver, thank you," she replied haughtily. Draco simply smirked at her and pulled on the shoe. He stood and looked down at his new attire.

"Just needs one more thing," he said before taking off down the hall to the stairs.

"Draco! We don't have time!"

He came back down twenty seconds later, threading one of his belts around his waist. Hermione rolled her eyes and yanked her front door open.

"Let's go!" she called from the doorway when Draco continued to stand in place admiring his outfit. He looked up and gave her a playful smolder.

"Tell me I don't look good right now," he said, puffing his chest slightly and running a hand across his scalp to muss his hair.

Hermione pursed her lips and looked him up and down. She released the door handle from her grip and stepped up to him. Draco arched an eyebrow as he watched her give him another once over and then reach forward to tuck in just the front of his t-shirt to reveal his belt buckle. She cocked her head at the Celtic knot design of the brushed nickel buckle and then tugged it slightly to center it over his waistline. After an approving nod at his outfit, she then looked up to scrutinize his hair.

Draco held perfectly still as Hermione reached up and rumpled his hair for him again and then picked at a few stray strands to make them lay just so.

"There," she said, stepping back, "perfect."

"Perfect?" Draco waggled his eyebrows. Hermione shrugged.

"Well, you could do with a tan."

Draco pouted a little and Hermione rolled her eyes with a laugh. "Oh, will you get your devilishly handsome arse out the door so we can go already?"

"Devilishly handsome?" Draco smirked smugly, passing Hermione to strut out the door.

"Oh, just get in the car," Hermione ordered, stepping out behind him and pulling the door closed. She heard Draco whistle.

"Nice ride," he said with an impressed nod at the car parked in her driveway. Hermione snorted.

"How long have you been itchin' to say that little Muggle tidbit?"

Draco shrugged and strode across the lawn to the driveway. "A while. Did I sound like a Muggle?" he asked, running a hand along the length of Hermione's car as he made his way around it to the passenger side.

"Thoroughly," Hermione smiled, pulling open her car door. "It's unlocked."

Draco opened his door and slid into his seat. He shut the door and looked about eagerly. He started pressing at buttons and Hermione slapped his hand after shutting her own door.

"No touching," she warned as she started the ignition.

"Violent," Draco said, cradling his hand in an exaggerated fashion.

"You have no idea," she smirked, "Now put on your seat belt."

Draco watched Hermione pull the strap of her own seat belt across her body to click it in place and then copied her to secure his.

"And what is the point of these straps?" he asked, tugging at the belt where it rested over his chest.

"You've been in a car before," Hermione said as she shifted to pull out into the road.

"Only twice," Draco replied, "and I didn't wear these when I did."

Hermione frowned sideways at him. "Seat belts are a safety device. They keep you from ejecting through the windshield in the event of a collision."

Draco looked at her horrified. "What?"

"It will keep you in the car if we crash," she reworded.

"I understood you the first time," he frowned back, "Why the hell do you not have cushioning charms or anything in place?"

"Draco," Hermione said, shaking her head as she drove, "there are limits to magic. I'm sure that comes as a shock to you, but a cushioning charm is not going to save you when you slam to a stop going 60 miles an hour."

"And this will?" he asked, nervously gripping the belt.

"If you're lucky," Hermione replied evenly. Draco tensed slightly as she accelerated and Hermione made a face.

"If you're scared of going too fast, we might as well turn around right now," she sighed.

"I'm not scared!" Draco said, releasing the belt and lowering his hands. He narrowed his eyes at her. "And why would my not liking the fact that I'm currently in mortal danger mean we need to turn around?"

Hermione grinned slyly. "Because the car you're about to ride in can reach speeds up to 240 miles an hour."

Draco gaped at her. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I've arranged for you to take a ride in one of the fastest production cars in the world."

"Is…is that my surprise?" Draco asked in disbelief. Hermione nodded with an affirmative hum.

"You seemed so enthralled with the race scenes in that one film that I thought…well, I thought it might excite you to actually experience that type of speed," she explained. "That and I think it's important that you understand just how much power Muggles are capable of creating."

Draco looked at her stunned for a moment and then settled back into his seat. "How fast are we traveling right now?" he asked curiously. Hermione glanced down at the gauges on her dash and shrugged.

"About 40 miles per hour."

Draco looked back out the window at the passing scenery. "Two hundred and forty…" he whispered.

"Should I turn back?" Hermione asked anxiously. "I won't feel bad if you don't wan-"

"No, it's not that," Draco interrupted, "it's just…the Firebolt tops out at 150 and the best Thunderbolt at 180. I can't…I can't even imagine…"

"Muggle airplanes go between 500 and 600 miles per hour," Hermione informed him with a smug grin. "And the space shuttle exceeds 17,000."

Draco shook his head in awe. "How is that even possible?"

Hermione turned her face to him as they stopped at a light. "I told you. Wizards are not the only ones with magic."

Draco looked back at her thoughtfully for a moment, but then merely returned his gaze out his window. They drove for a time in silence until Draco spoke again.

"A car that drives that fast can't be very common," he commented suddenly. He turned to look at Hermione again. "Or cheap."

Hermione nodded. "I knew you were smart."

Draco frowned slightly. "How did you arrange for me to ride in one?"

"When your parents are both doctors you tend to meet people with very expensive toys," she answered with a shrug.

"I don't understand," Draco said, furrowing his brow, "what does being a…uh _doctor_ have to do with expensive things?"

"It's one of the highest paid professions in the Muggle world," she answered with a furrowed brow of her own, "They're the equivalent of Healers. My father is one of the best dentists in Australia and my mother is an oral surgeon, Draco."

"So, what are you saying? That you're wealthy?" he asked skeptically.

"No, my parents are. They're certainly not _your_ level wealthy, but they're upper-class enough to know people that own cars that most people haven't even heard of."

"So, your parents know this person that is going to let us use the fast car?"

Hermione nodded. "My Uncle Mark…well, not _really_ my uncle. He's my father's best mate from university. He owns a racetrack and several high-performance cars. He allows people to come and experience the thrill of racing…for a price of course."

"And how much is this going to cost me?" Draco asked.

"Nothing," Hermione said simply.

"Nothing?" he repeated.

Hermione smiled as they turned into the drive of the track property. "Happy Birthday, Draco," she said, the topic of pricing instantly forgotten as Draco leaned against the window to watch a car zoom along the straightaway of the racetrack a little ways in the distance.

"Sweet, fucking Merlin," he said breathlessly at the sight. Hermione smiled wider as she pulled into a parking space and checked the clock on her dash.

"We made it just in time. You're turn's up next."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Little Mia!" a tall, impeccably dressed, dark-haired man said cheerfully as he came out of the back office of the track's operations building.

"Uncle Mark," Hermione smiled back as the man came up and gave her a firm, fatherly hug. Mark took a step back and looked at her fondly.

"Though, not so little anymore, are you, Mia? Sakes alive…I don't think I've seen you since before your folks made for the outback."

Hermione blushed a little and nodded. "Yes, it's been too long. It is really very good to see you. And I do hope that it wasn't too much trouble to fit us in on such short notice."

Mark waved at her impatiently. "Anything for you. Lord knows I owe your father enough to put me in the red." He chuckled and then noticed Draco standing awkwardly to the side.

"Is this Draco?" he asked, pointing to him. At Hermione's nod, Mark stepped up to him and held out his hand.

"Mark…Mark Mitchell," he introduced himself professionally. Draco glanced once at Hermione and then stuck out his hand to shake the one offered to him.

"Draco Malfoy," he nodded back politely. Mark's grip tightened as he leaned his face close to Draco's and eyed him sternly.

"You treatin' my Mia right?" he demanded, suddenly looking angry. Draco's eyes went wide and he visibly stammered to respond.

"I…I…uh…"

"Oh, I'm just hasslin' you," Mark said with a loud jovial laugh, slapping Draco hard on the back. He released his hand and ruffled Draco's hair affectionately. "If Mia trusts you, you must be alright. Come on, kid…let's get you suited up for the ride of your life, eh!?"

"Suited up?" Draco asked with a nervous glance at Hermione.

"Mia sprung for you to have the full experience, kid," Mark said, ushering Draco to a door.

"Mr. Mitchell? The paperwork?" a woman sitting behind a nearby counter called out. Mark halted in his steps and made an exaggerated huff.

"Blasted paperwork," Mark said, redirecting Draco to the counter. "Make it quick, Janet. We've got engines waitin' for revvin'!"

The woman swiftly assembled a clipboard with several papers and slid it across the counter as Hermione stepped up to it to stand beside Draco.

"Sign by the x's, and I need your identification, please," Janet instructed as Draco took the clipboard from her. He furrowed his brow at it and then looked sideways at Hermione.

"What the hell am I signing?" he whispered as he pulled his ID from his back pocket and set it on the counter.

"Just something that says you won't blame me if you die," Mark answered, slapping him on the back again. Draco looked up at him with an eyebrow cocked up into his hairline and Mark laughed again loudly. "Don't fret, kid. My drivers are the best. Now let's get this office mumbo-jumbo rollin'," he said, picking Draco's ID off the counter. He glanced at it, then did a double take, and then looked at Hermione.

" _Mia_?" he questioned with a stern expression of parental concern. "This address looks rather familiar."

Hermione shifted uncomfortably on her feet. "Yes, well…it would look familiar wouldn't it?" she cast her gaze about, avoiding his. Mark looked between her and Draco (who was pointedly focusing his attention to signing the papers) and then handed the ID to Janet with a smile.

"Ready then?" he asked, without further comment on the address, as Draco slid the clipboard back across the counter.

"Yes, sir," Draco said, with a deep breath. Mark nodded approvingly and with a motion for Hermione to follow, led Draco back to the door.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"You look good," Hermione beamed at Draco as he stepped out of the building onto the siding of the track. He set aside the racing helmet in his hands and tugged at the collar of the black and white, full body racing suit he had on.

"I always look good," he smirked.

Hermione rolled her eyes, but smiled as Mark came out and placed a hand to Draco's shoulder. "There she is," the older man said, pointing to a car coming down the track, "my fastest baby."

Draco eyed the bright orange car greedily as it approached and slowed to pull up to them. "Nice ride," he said. Hermione stifled a snicker and Mark grinned at his enthusiasm and squeezed his shoulder.

"Helmet on, kid," he said and Draco hefted the helmet from the cement pylon he'd set it on. He leaned over to Hermione.

"A kiss for luck?" he asked, batting his eyes innocently. Hermione shoved at him and he chuckled as he pulled the helmet snuggly down over his head. "Worth a try," he muffled behind it with a shrug.

Mark shook his head at the two of them, but said nothing as he stepped up to the car and lifted its vertical-lifting side door up and open. He leaned down to say something to the driver and then waved at Draco to come.

Draco gave Hermione one last excited look. "If I die, I'm coming back to haunt you," he winked behind the visor of the helmet and then jogged over to the car. Hermione sighed and crossed her arms as she watched Mark assist Draco into the low seat and adjusted the safety harness around his torso. Mark said something to Draco, who nodded, and then stood straight to shut the door. Hermione held her breath as Draco was lost to her sight within the car and it began to pull away.

"What did you say to the driver?" Hermione asked Mark when he came back to stand next to her.

Mark smirked. "I told him to give it all she has and to add an extra round of laps!" he shouted over the sound of the engine.

"You didn't have to do tha-"

"There he goes!" Mark interrupted, nudging Hermione in the side to watch the track.

"Draco," she gasped involuntarily with a hand to her chest at the shock of seeing just how impossibly fast the car was already going.

"He's safe, Mia!" Mark said, his eyes trained on the car that was already coming back around to pass them. The wind coming off of it as it flew by in a blur whipped Hermione's air wildly and she clamped her arms over her head.

"Oh, my god! It looks so fast this close!" she yelled, leaning closer to Mark.

"They're not even at full speed yet!" he hollered back. Hermione bit her lip, her anxious whimper drowned out by the wind.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Draco's knuckles were white as he gripped at the harness securing him to the seat and a steady torrent of expletives poured incoherently out of his mouth. The driver to his right laughed loudly.

"Get ready!" the man shouted, "Here comes the fast part!"

"Fast part!?" Draco yelled back, his helmeted head rattling against the seat with the vibrations of the intense speed. The driver smiled behind his own helmet and shifted gears to send the car lurching forward at its maximum velocity. Draco's mouth pulled into a wide smile even as he screamed.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"They're coming back in now!" Mark clapped and then waved both hands over his head at the approaching car as it slowed down the straightaway. The driver pulled into a nearby pit and Mark jogged the short distance to it.

He went to the passenger side and pulled up the door. He swiftly undid the harness keeping Draco confined to the seat and then offered him his hand to help him out. Draco took it and exited the car with a hop. He released his hand only to yank off his helmet and lift it high in the air like a trophy and whoop so loudly that the noise echoed. Mark chuckled at him as Hermione came sprinting up to them with an enormous smile.

"Oh, my gosh, you were going SO fast!" she said excitedly. "Did you have fu-"

Her words were cut short when Draco suddenly pitched forward and flung his arms around her. He kissed her square on the lips, swept her off of her feet and whirled her around.

"That was fucking awesome!" he yelled joyously, setting down and releasing the dazed looking Hermione to turn back to Mark. He shook the man's hand enthusiastically as the two began talking to the driver that'd also gotten out.

Hermione swayed slightly on her feet and touched her hand to her mouth. She clasped her other hand back to her heart as her eyes followed the adrenaline-high Draco – his hair sweaty and mussed from the helmet, his flushed face lit-up with a smile so wide it looked painful - as he spoke animatedly with the other two men about his ride.

"Did you see us, Hermione!?" Draco asked elatedly, looking back at her suddenly. "Did you see us!?"

She nodded dumbly and Draco turned back again to shake the driver's hand and then Mark's once more.

"I have got to get me one of these!" Draco said, looking covetously at the car. Mark laughed and slapped a hand to his shoulder.

"You'll have to get about £3,000,000 first," he said.

"Not a problem," Draco replied, still eyeing the car. "Hermione, you want one too?"

Mark laughed again. "This kid's funny," he said looking at Hermione, "I can see why you like him."

Hermione blushed, but didn't respond as Mark led Draco around the rear of the car where the driver had opened a hatch to reveal the engine. She joined them, her eyes never leaving Draco's face as he smiled and laughed and awed over the Muggle machine before him with the others.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"So, why does he call you Mia?" Draco asked with a grin as Hermione turned onto her street.

Hermione grinned back. "When I was little I couldn't quite figure out how to say my name. I used to say 'Her-mia.' Uncle Mark thought it was hilarious and has called me Mia ever since."

"I think I'm going to start calling you that," Draco teased. Hermione shook her head at him.

"So, did you enjoy your birthday surprise?" she asked, changing the subject as she pulled into her driveway. Draco chuckled.

"Are you kidding? That was the single most thrilling thing I've ever done," he reminisced excitedly. Hermione smirked as she got out and shut her door. Draco did the same and then leaned forward to fold his arms over the roof of her car as he addressed her. "I still can't believe you arranged that."

Hermione gave a half shrug. "It was nothing," she smiled back.

"No, it was bloody brilliant," Draco insisted coming around the front of the car to jog after her as she headed up the front walk to her house. Hermione merely shrugged again as she opened the door and stepped inside. Draco followed her in quickly and grabbed her elbow to turn her around to face him.

"I mean it," he said sincerely as the door clicked closed. "That…no one's ever done anything like that for me before," he added, gazing down at Hermione's wide eyes.

Hermione shook her head slightly. "It was only a few phone calls. A small price to pay to see you so happy."

They stood then in loud silence, Draco's hand still on her elbow, as they stared at each other. Hermione finally cleared her throat and tugged her arm free to her side.

"Well, I don't have any other plans tonight," she said shyly, "would…would you maybe like me to take you out for a birthday dinner?"

"No, it's okay," Draco answered at once. Hermione's face fell at that and she took a step back.

"Oh…okay," she said quietly with a weak smile, hugging her arms around her middle.

"I mean…I… I would," Draco explained, at the sight of her suddenly self-conscious stance. "It's just…my mum's already got something planned and I said I'd be there, and…"

"No, it's fine. Really," Hermione said with a forced chuckle, "Of…of course you should spend your birthday with your family. It was silly of me to think…just…you should probably get going then. I've kept you long enough and I'm sure your parents are missing you."

Draco opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but closed it again and simply took his Wizarding attire from Hermione as she gathered it from the side table and handed it to him. He quickly changed in the awkward silence as Hermione turned around to stroke Odin, who'd jumped up onto the back of a nearby chair.

"I, uh...I'm done," Draco said quietly when he was finished. Hermione merely nodded and led him then into the sitting room and picked up an earthen jar of Floo powder from beside the hearth of her fireplace. She held it out for him to grab a small handful and then set it back down.

"I really do appreciate today," Draco said, idly rubbing a thumb through the powder in his palm. "Thank you."

Hermione said nothing, but reached up and cupped his face in her hands. She tugged his head down even with hers and just as Draco's eyes widened, she turned his head to plant a soft kiss to his cheek.

"Happy Birthday, Draco Malfoy," she whispered, releasing him. He stood straight again and blinked at her like he was seeing her for the first time. He looked again like he wanted to say something, but Hermione beat him to it.

"You had better go," she said softly, "You don't want to be late for your dinner."

Draco gave her another nod with a last small smirk and then stepped back and dropped the powder to disappear into the flames of her Floo.

Hermione sighed heavily and hugged her arms tight around her torso with a look at Odin. "Well, boy," she said dismally, "it looks like another Saturday night alone."

The cat bounded over to her and jumped up into her arms and nuzzled her. Hermione laughed. "Yes, I know I have you."

She turned to start walking out of the room when the Floo behind her suddenly roared to life again. She whirled around to see Draco stepping back out, his face set in an expression of smug determination as he looked up and met Hermione's startled gaze.

"So, where are you taking me for dinner?"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 **A/N: Sorry for the wait. Real life and other story and all… Anyway, thank you all for continuing to read and review!**

 **Exchange rate in 2004: approx. £.54 GBP = $ 1USD So: £3 million = $5.6 million**


	10. Draco's Birthday: Part 2

Odin leapt from Hermione's arms onto Draco's chest and speedily clawed his way up to his shoulder to perch precariously upon it.

"Miss me?" Draco laughed at the cat purring loudly into his ear. He looked at Hermione who was still staring at him with wide eyes. "Well…?"

"What…what about your dinner with your mum?" she asked him, her face a mixture of tentative glee and puzzlement. Odin hissed when Draco shrugged in response.

"I have dinner with her all the time. And she _is_ always telling me that I need to get out more."

"But I-" Hermione started to protest.

"Do you want me to go out with you or not?" Draco interrupted.

"Well, of course. I…I just…" she stammered.

"Well, if you'd rather not," Draco shrugged and made like he was about to turn back to the Floo.

"No!" Hermione blurted out, grabbing his upper arm. "I want to go out with you…"

Draco cocked an eyebrow and smirked at her. "So then, where are you taking me?"

Hermione released his arm and took a step back. "I hadn't really planned anything to be honest," she admitted, biting her lip.

"Take me to your favorite Muggle restaurant," Draco suggested, raising a hand to pet Odin. Hermione nodded at the idea.

"Okay," she said, reaching up to extract her cat from Draco's shoulder. Odin growled at the action and leapt away from them to bolt down the hall. Hermione shook her head after him and then looked back up at an expectant looking Draco.

"What should I change into?" he asked. Hermione shrugged.

"What you were wearing earlier will be fine."

Draco furrowed his brow slightly. "A t-shirt and jeans for dinner?"

Hermione simply grinned at him. "Get changed and I'll be down in a few minutes."

She turned then to hurry down the hall and up the stairs. Draco watched her go and then went to the table where his Muggle clothing was still sitting from earlier. He quickly changed and then went down the hall to the bathroom. He flicked on the light and stepped up to the sink to eye himself in the mirror.

He smirked at himself and then tousled his hair with his hands. He checked his teeth and smoothed his shirt before giving himself an approving nod. Just as he went to turn of the light he glanced down at the black stain on his left arm and paused. He frowned down at it and then back up at his reflection.

"Hermione!?" he yelled out. He heard her muffled, distant, 'Yes?' and finally exited the bathroom. "Can you bring me one of my jackets when you come back down!?" he called up the stairs.

"Sure!" came her reply, and Draco put his hands in his pockets and strolled over to her wall of frames as he waited. His eyes scanned the mixture of stationary and moving photographs until he spotted a newly familiar face.

Draco squinted his eyes at Mark's face and then let them travel over to the other smiling adults flanking Hermione in the still photo. He hummed at the image of what was obviously her parents and then moved on to spot a still portrait of a middle-aged woman wearing what appeared to be wizard-style robes and a silver rune pendant. He leaned forward to eye the picture more closely just as Hermione came up beside him and pressed a jacket into his side. Draco took the jacket without looking away from the frame.

"Hermione….who is this?" he asked. Hermione glanced up at the picture and smiled.

"That's Grandmother Granger. My dad's mum."

Draco pointed at the pendant around the woman's neck. "She's a witch," he said in disbelief.

"Don't get excited," Hermione replied, tilting her face up to the picture. "My father was adopted. I assure you, I'm still very much Muggle-born."

"Still…" Draco said thoughtfully at the portrait. Hermione shook her head.

"She passed before I was born. Dad said she was lovely, though," she said, her face suddenly pensive.

"Did your father know what she was?"

Hermione shook her head again. "She never outright told him, but when it became apparent that I was a witch things clicked into place for Dad. He gave me this picture and when I was old enough I was able to research her."

"And?" Draco asked eagerly, still staring at the woman's face.

"She was a half-blood," Hermione shrugged, "She never married. Didn't have any other children. I couldn't find any record of her at Hogwarts so she must've been home schooled. I don't know much else." She looked back at the photo and sighed. "I would've loved to have met her. To have grown-up with someone that actually understood me would've been…" she trailed off a bit uncomfortably.

Draco finally looked over at her and his eyes widened slightly. "Wow," he said, breaking the serious tone of their conversation. She looked up at him.

"Wow what?" she asked with a puzzled face.

"You," he answered, looking her up and down.

"Yes, it's me," she said, straightening her blouse self-consciously. Draco laughed as he pulled on his jacket.

"You look hot, Mia. How many birthday gifts are you planning to give today?" he asked with a playful leer.

"Oh, please," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "All I did was clip up my hair and put on some mascara. I didn't exactly go all out."

"Didn't need to," Draco grinned, offering out his arm for Hermione to take. She looked at it hesitantly and then slipped her arm into his and let him walk her to the front door. He started to go to her car once they were outside and Hermione tugged at him.

"Petrol's expensive. We'll be walking," she said, pulling him toward the pavement. "The pub's just a few blocks from here."

"Pub?" Draco asked. Hermione nodded.

"It's a small place, but it has a wonderful atmosphere and friendly people. And the food's rather excellent."

Draco hummed and then listened as Hermione proceeded to talk about the various Muggle things around them as they walked.

"That's a rented trash bin. Oh and that's where we put outgoing mail. And that's an electrical transformer. And-"

"What's that?" Draco asked, pointing to a small yellow square with a black 'H'.

"That marks a fire hydrant," she answered, pausing to point to the ground beside it, "the fire brigade lifts the plate there to access the pipes if they need water to fight a fire in this area."

"So that's how they do it," Draco said thoughtfully. Hermione smiled at him and tugged at his arm again.

"Come on," she said, pointing just down the street, "we're nearly there."

Draco resumed his steps beside her and two minutes later found himself being led up and into the quaint pub.

"Hermione!" a stout, bald man with a bushy moustache called out happily when he saw her and Draco come in. "Hey, Maggie, look who it is!"

A plump woman with frizzy, red hair looked up from the table she was wiping down to smile widely at Hermione. She hurried over and embraced her in a warm hug.

"Hermione," the woman said in a thick Irish brogue, stepping back to give her a sad frown, "we'd thought you'd forgotten us."

"Never," Hermione shook her head. "You know I just like to avoid the crowds."

"Well, futbol season's over so you've got it good and quiet now," Maggie said, her hands on her hips. She spotted Draco to Hermione's side and smirked. "And who's this handsome lad?"

"Oh, this is Draco," Hermione said, placing a hand to Draco's shoulder. Maggie looked him over and cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Nice belt," she said after a moment.

"Uh…thanks," Draco smirked back. Maggie looked him up and down again and then leaned toward Hermione.

"It's about time you got yourself a decent man," she said with another quick glance back at Draco. She leaned even closer to Hermione and whispered, "Take the booth in the back." She winked and then stepped back. "Two pints of the usual then?" she asked loudly.

"And a menu, please," Hermione nodded. Maggie scrutinized Draco one last time before walking away. Hermione took Draco's hand and led him to a secluded corner booth at the back of the pub.

"Do you know everyone?" Draco asked when they'd sat. Hermione laughed.

"Hardly."

Maggie came back then and set down two pint glasses and a menu on the table. "Holler when you're ready to order," she said with another wink. Hermione thanked her and the woman left again, waving her rag in the air.

"What's this?" Draco asked, picking up one of the glasses and eyeing the dark amber liquid within it.

"Beer," Hermione answered, picking up her own glass and taking a sip. She sighed appreciatively as she swallowed and set the glass back down. "Try it," she said, nodding to the drink in Draco's hand. He sniffed it.

"Is it like butterbeer?" he asked, scrunching his nose slightly.

"Not at all," Hermione smiled. Draco gave her an anxious look, but took a sip. He swished it around his mouth and then smacked his lips after he swallowed.

"Well, that's different," he said, peering quizzically down into the glass.

"Different good or different bad?" Hermione asked as she opened the menu. Draco took another drink.

"Good. Actually…" he took another large swig and Hermione chuckled.

"Easy," she said, kicking him under the table. "It's alcoholic."

Draco set down the glass and smiled at it. "Muggles know how to drink."

Hermione bit her lip as she watched him across the table and he glanced up at her. "What?" he asked.

"You've…you've got a bit of…" she touched a finger to the top of her lip to demonstrate that he had a small amount of foam from the beer's head on his upper lip. Draco looked down in an attempt to see his own top lip and then looked back up at Hermione.

"I don't see anything."

Hermione rolled her eyes and reached forward to swipe her thumb over his lip. He grabbed her hand just as she went to pull it away and kissed her knuckles. Her breath caught and her eyes locked to his.

"Thank you," he said, releasing her hand. They stared at each other as Hermione slowly pulled back her hand and gave a slight nod.

"So…so what do you want to eat?" she finally asked quietly, turning the menu so Draco could see it. He shrugged without looking at it.

"Order me whatever you're having. I trust you."

Hermione blinked at him for a moment and then with a shy smile called for Maggie.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Favorite class?" Hermione asked, picking at the last bits of her food on her plate.

Draco swallowed the last of his beer and licked at his lip. "Uh…Potions, I think. You?"

"Arithmancy," she answered easily.

"You would like that boring shite," Draco teased, leaning back after pushing his empty plate away from him.

Hermione pouted. "It wasn't boring. It was very detailed magical calculation."

"Yeah… _boring_ ," Draco emphasized and then chuckled when Hermione kicked at him under the table.

"You youngin's done?" Maggie asked, stepping up to the table and slinging her rag over her shoulder. Hermione glanced questioningly at Draco who nodded that he was indeed done.

"Yes, Maggie. I think we'll take the bill," Hermione said, looking up at the woman. Maggie pulled the already printed bill slip from her apron pocket and handed it to Hermione. She looked it over quickly and then opened her bag.

"I've got it," Draco said, moving to pull his credit card from his back pocket, but Hermione scowled at him.

"Absolutely not," she said sternly, handing over the pound notes she'd already fished out of her bag to Maggie. "It's your birthday and I'm treating."

Draco went to argue and Maggie leaned over to him. "I wouldn't bother fighting her, lad, if you know what's good for ya." She stepped back and looked to Hermione. "You'll bring this one back soon, yeah?"

"Oh, we'll be back," Draco said, running a finger around the rim of his glass and then licking the beer residue from it. Maggie shook her head at him and then with a last goodbye to Hermione, walked away.

"So where to now?" Draco asked as he stood to follow Hermione to the exit. She paused at the door to wave goodbye to the barman and then shrugged.

"It's a nice night. There's a really lovely park near here with a walking path that leads back to my street," she suggested, pushing open the door to step outside. She shivered and wrapped her arms around her chest. "Or maybe not," she said, frowning at the air.

"You're cold?" Draco asked, watching her rub her upper arms. She nodded and he took off his jacket. "Here," he said, draping it over her shoulders. Hermione stared up at him in shock.

"But…but now you'll be cold," she said, nodding to his bare arms. He shrugged.

"The cold doesn't bother me."

Hermione slipped her arms into the long sleeves of the jacket and tugged it around herself. "Thank you," she said sincerely. Draco nodded and then followed her as she began their walk.

"Did you enjoy your meal?" Hermione asked him after a minute.

"I thought it was my turn to ask a question," he said, arching an eyebrow. Hermione wrinkled her nose at him and bumped his shoulder. He chuckled and nodded. "Yes," he replied. "It was very good. I especially enjoyed the beer."

"I'm glad," she said. They were silent for a bit until Draco finally asked another question as they turned into the park.

"So, what's your favorite dessert?"

Hermione thought for a moment. "Lemon cake. You?"

"Chocolate cake," he grinned.

"Good to know," Hermione hummed as she led them toward a bridge-covered pond. "What's your favorite color?" she asked.

Draco looked out at the water as they began walking side by side over the bridge. "Black. Yours?"

"Grey. Dark grey, really. More like gunmetal I suppose," she answered.

"Gunmetal?" Draco asked puzzled.

Hermione cast her eyes about to try and find something in the dark around them that was the precise color she was trying to describe. "I'll have to show you later," she shrugged, running her hand over the bridge railing.

"I'm surprised it's not red," Draco commented, shoving his hands into his jeans' pockets.

"And I'm surprised yours isn't green," she sassed back at him, "Now it's your turn."

Draco hummed in thought. "Okay...what's your favorite animal?"

"Otter," Hermione answered at once. Draco made a face.

"That's an odd choice."

Hermione frowned. "It's not odd. They're adorable and intelligent."

He smirked at her. "Like you."

Hermione blushed a little but focused her attention on the bridge's railing as it passed under her hand as she walked. "And what's yours then?" she asked without looking up. There was a brief silence until Draco answered.

"Octopus," he said quietly. Hermione looked over at him.

"And you thought my choice was odd?" she teased with a smile that faded when she saw he was serious. She eyed him curiously for a moment. "Why an octopus?" she asked.

Draco gave a half shrug as he stared up at the starless sky. "They're fascinating. They're the most intelligent invertebrate. Did you know that? They can use tools and problem solve and remember faces. Plus they're surprisingly strong. They look weak, but they're not. And their camouflage is unsurpassed. They can blend in to any surrounding, change their color and even their shape and texture... can make themselves into whatever it takes to go unnoticed...to survive."

Hermione stopped walking and looked at Draco thoughtfully. "Have you ever cast a Patronus?"

Draco halted his steps beside her and cocked an eyebrow. "Why?"

"I thought we were asking questions to learn more about each other?" Hermione said tilting her head. "Was it not my turn?"

Draco narrowed his eyes at her slightly. "Yeah, it's your turn. I just don't see how you went from favorite animals to that."

"A corporeal Patronus takes the shape of an animal," Hermione replied with a puzzled look. "Did you not know that?"

"Of course I knew that," he snapped defensively.

"Well, then… have you cast one?" she asked again. Draco slumped a little.

"No," he admitted reluctantly. "I suppose you have?"

Hermione nodded. "My Patronus is an otter."

"And you think mine would be an octopus, then?" he asked.

"There's no way of knowing until you actually do it," she said, pulling her wand and nodding at Draco to pull his. "Try it."

He quickly looked about at the dark around them and then bent down and lifted the leg of his jeans to retrieve his wand from his ankle holster. "I…I don't know how," he confessed.

Hermione smiled at him and held her wand out. "You think of the happiest memory you have and then focus your mind on it as you flick your wand like this and say ' _Expecto Patronum._ '" She demonstrated the correct wand movement and Draco eyed it carefully.

"You're supposed to teach me how to do _Muggle_ things," he said, flicking his wand to practice the movement. Hermione shrugged.

"Well, it's sort of a special occasion, isn't it? Besides, after your joy ride today, you should have an abundance of happy energy to make it easier to cast. The first one can be tricky," she said and then whispered the spell. Her otter slipped easily from the tip of her wand and swam down and around them, rolling and splashing ethereal waves about Draco's feet. He laughed at it and when it disappeared he looked back up at Hermione.

"Didn't look so tricky," he smiled. Hermione nodded to the wand in his hand.

"Give it a go."

Draco looked back to focus his attention on his wand. He furrowed his brow deeply and flicked it as Hermione had instructed.

" _Expecto Patronum!"_

A mass of silvery, blue mist exploded out from his wand. It held for a few seconds and then faded. Draco sighed as he lowered his hand.

"It didn't work," he pouted, but Hermione shoved at his shoulder.

"No, that was really good!" she praised. "For a first attempt, that was actually quite amazing."

Draco turned to her as she continued to look at the air where his shapeless Patronus had just been with an impressed smile. He studied her face in the dim light of the bridge for a moment and then reached up to tuck one of her curls behind her ear.

" _You're_ amazing," he whispered. Hermione tensed at the gentle touch of his hand against her head and slowly raised her eyes to his. He gazed at her tenderly for a moment and then his eyes travelled lower to rest on her mouth.

"Draco…?" Hermione whispered back, her throat pulsing as she swallowed hard when Draco slid his palm flat against her cheek and lowered his face.

"Amazing," he simply repeated and then closed the distance between them to press his lips softly to hers. Hermione stiffened, her eyes wide in surprise as Draco closed his and raised his other hand, still grasping his wand, and placed it on the other side of her face.

Hermione quickly relaxed at the tenderness of his motions and leaned into him with her hands on his chest. She closed her eyes and made a small whimper as Draco lightly traced his tongue across her bottom lip. The sound spurred him on and he moved his hands down her back to pull her even closer. The kiss deepened and Hermione tiptoed up to make a better angle as she slid her left hand up to thread her fingers through his silky hair.

Their heads tilted this way and that as they let their tongues explore and after a minute of snogging, Draco abruptly pushed away from her to take a step back. Panting, Hermione clasped a hand to her middle at the sudden abandonment. Her face pulled into a pained grimace that quickly disappeared as Draco pointed his wand to the sky.

 _"Expecto Patronum!"_ His voice echoed across the water below them as Hermione looked up to see a giant octopus - so bright that it made her squint her eyes- dart from the tip of his wand.

"Oh my god," she gasped, watching the creature coil and expand its massive tentacles across the black, night sky.

"I did it," Draco breathed, his chest heaving slightly as he gaped at his Patronus floating above them. His mouth pulled into a wide smile. "I did it," he repeated, shifting his eyes to Hermione. They roamed over her face –illuminated in the white-blue light of the octopus that was now lazily crawling its way around them.

"Beautiful," Hermione sighed as one of the tentacles reached out and passed over her outstretched hand.

"Very," Draco said, his gaze still on her face. Hermione turned to him.

"How…how did you-"

"I just needed a happier memory, I guess," he said with a tiny smirk. He bent down and stowed his wand back into its holster. He straightened back up and they stared at each other as the Patronus faded.

"So, what now?" Hermione finally asked softly.

"I was thinking maybe a movie back at your place," Draco answered. Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but then made a face like she reconsidered and closed it again.

"Did…did you have anything particular in mind?" she said instead, shyly slipping her arm through the one Draco offered out to her.

Draco nodded as they began to walk again. "Something boring."

"Boring?" Hermione inquired curiously, glancing up at him.

"Yes," he confirmed with a sly grin, "It needs to be something I won't mind being distracted from."

Hermione bit her lip and ducked her head at that and Draco laughed.

"Oh, Mia," he said, patting a hand to hers on his arm, "you are so much fun."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 **A/N: Thank you my lovely readers and reviewers! You bring me such joy. :)**

 **Fun fact for last chapter: traffic speed and distance in the UK is still measured in Miles…not Kilometers. Mostly everything else is measured using metric…but Parliament doesn't want to spend the time and resources it would take to replace all the street signs and forms if they switched systems. So miles it stays…**


	11. Parental Guidance

"Wake up."

Draco blinked an eye open and groaned. "What?" he asked groggily.

Lucius glared down at his son. "It's nearly noon."

"And?" Draco said, turning his head away and snuzzling down to go back to sleep. Lucius kicked the bed post, jolting him back awake.

"Where were you last night? Your mother was beside herself with worry."

Draco merely pulled a blanket up over his head and Lucius pulled his wand. The light, stinging hex hit Draco right in the butt and he yelped and bolted up onto his knees.

"What the hell is your problem!?" he demanded of his father, rubbing one hand to his sore arse and one to his sleepy eyes. "I'm trying to sleep!"

"I noticed," Lucius said coolly. "And I told you to wake up. So let's try this again. Where were you last night?"

Draco blinked away the sleep from his eyes as he glowered at him. "Out with a friend. What's it to you?"

"A friend?" Lucius drawled. "This friend must be very dear to you for you to miss the dinner your mother planned. Tell me...who is this _friend_?"

"I'm going back to sleep," he replied, shaking his head and Lucius took a step forward.

"You will tell me wh-"

"I am not sixteen anymore," Draco interrupted angrily. "I'll go out with whomever I want, wherever I want, _whenever_ I want."

"Your mother was-"

"Very upset I'm sure," Draco interrupted again, rolling his eyes. "I'll apologize to her and let her take me out later. Now can you kindly piss off so I can sleep?"

He buried himself back under the blanket and Lucius scowled at his cocooned form.

"So help me, Draco, if I discover that you've been out with that Muggle-loving harlot again..."

Draco laughed out loud under his blanket. He pulled the edge of it down just enough to expose his face to smirk up at his father.

"So now you _don't_ want lovely, _pureblood_ Astoria to be the next Lady Malfoy?"

Lucius growled in his throat. "I believe I made that sentiment clear to you months ago. She's unacceptable."

"Because of the Muggle-loving part or the harlot part?" Draco asked spitefully, recovering his head.

"Don't be smart with me," Lucius snapped. "You better not have been with that girl."

Draco snorted. "You needn't worry about Astoria, father. I assure you I no longer have any interest in her."

Lucius relaxed his rigid stance slightly at that. "Then perhaps you'd like to know that your mother had invited a guest over last night."

"Bully for Mother," Draco mumbled.

"I'm sure you remember Viola Richmond?" Lucius went on. "She's returned from her time abroad and expressed an interest in seeing you again."

"I'm sure she did," Draco called out sarcastically. "I trust my portrait in the main hall was able to satisfy that desire and you sent her on her way?"

Lucius's lip pulled up into an impatient sneer. "On the contrary….she is in the gardens with your mother at this very moment."

"Good for her."

"You will get up and go down there," Lucius said sternly.

"No," Draco answered, drawing out the word, "I will be here…sleeping. Do send her my regards."

Lucius ripped the blanket from the bed. "You WILL go down there and you WILL show courtesy and respect to what may very well be your last chance at a suitable bride," he said as Draco rolled over to glare at him.

"I'm not one of your fucking dogs," Draco spat at him. "You can't just stud me out to whatever bitch YOU think is acceptable."

Lucius dropped the blanket to the floor and flicked his wand sending all of Draco's drawers and closet doors open with a clatter. "I expect you dressed and presentable in the gardens in twenty minutes," he said, standing to his full height. "Do NOT make me come back in here."

He turned then on his heel and left the room. Draco glared after him and then flopped his head back against his pillow with a groan.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Hermione groaned and rolled over to cover her head with her pillow at the sound of her phone ringing.

"Oh, shut it!" she shouted at the offending device, lifting the pillow slightly to glare at it on her nightstand. When the ringing failed to cease, she growled and threw her pillow aside and reached over to turn it to see the caller ID. She squinted down at the screen and groaned again.

"Morning, mum," she grumbled after she clicked to accept the call and placed it on speakerphone.

 _"Morning?"_ Ellen Granger's voice replied. _"It's ten at night here."_

"Well, it's morning here," Hermione said, sitting up to eye her alarm clock. Her eyes widened slightly at the fact that it was noon. "Or at least it was…" she added, with a yawn.

 _"Late night, dear?"_

"Yes," Hermione admitted, flinging her blanket off to swing her legs over the side of her bed.

 _"Draco keep you up, did he?"_

Hermione sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Uncle Mark called you, didn't he?"

 _"Yes,"_ Ellen replied in an admonishing tone, _"The thing I'm curious to know is why YOU_ _didn't."_

"Mum, it's not wha-"

 _"You'd think,"_ her mother interrupted, _"that a daughter would tell her mother when she's invited a man to live with her. Or at the very least tell her that she was even seeing someone."_

"Mum," Hermione said sternly, "It is not what you think. Draco doesn't actually-"

 _"You don't need to explain, Hermione. After all, you are a grown woman and it's your house now. You're welcome to have whomever you like live there. I just thought that you would've confided in me if you-"_

"He's a wizard, mum," Hermione cut her off. "He's trying to assimilate into the Muggle world and he needs a Muggle address in order to do so. He is NOT actually living here."

 _"And do you kiss all of the wizards you help?"_

Hermione closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "No, mum. I don't."

 _"Tell me about him,"_ Ellen said, suddenly sounding eager. _"How did you meet? What's he look like? How long have you been together?"_

Hermione stood from her bed and went to her dresser to pull open a drawer. "I'm surprised Uncle Mark didn't fill you in on all of that as well!" she called out over her shoulder.

 _"Well, he actually talked with your father. And you know how men are at relaying details,"_ Ellen replied. Hermione sighed again.

"His name is Draco Malfoy. We met back at Hogwarts."

 _"Wait a minute… You've mentioned him before."_

Hermione cringed. "Have I?"

 _"Isn't he the blond boy that tormented you for being Muggle-born?"_

Hermione didn't answer and Ellen went on _. "He is…his father's the one that made that awful ruckus in that bookstore that one year."_

"You have a good memory, mum," Hermione said, pulling a shirt and jeans from the dresser. "Though I think Arthur Weasley made just as much ruckus that day."

 _"Don't even get me started on the Weasleys,"_ Ellen said, sounding cross. _"Anyway, I remember that Malfoy man. He looked rich as Hades and just as approachable."_

"That sounds accurate," Hermione conceded, pulling off her pajamas and chucking them into the bathroom.

 _"And you're dating his son?"_

"I've been teaching him how to do Muggle things," she explained. "He comes over during the day while I'm at work to read my books and watch my movies to learn the culture and I've taken him out a few times to do other things."

 _"And how long has this been going on?"_

"We reconnected a few weeks ago at that party that Bryce brought me to."

Ellen Granger clucked her tongue. _"I told you not to go out with that Bryce fellow. I knew what a mistake HE was from the outset."_

"So is this where you tell me not to go out with Draco too," Hermione asked, glaring at the ceiling as she tugged on her jeans. There was a pause and Hermione turned to squint her eyes at the phone. "Mum?"

 _"I'm here,"_ came the quiet reply. Ellen sighed heavily. _"Hermione, you're going to do what you're going to do. You always have. I just want you to be sure about the choices you make."_

"I was never sure about Bryce," Hermione confessed, "Nor Ron for that matter…"

 _"And Draco…?"_

Hermione tugged on her shirt and sat back down on her bed. "He's so different than I remember him," she said quietly. "He…he's funny. He's ridiculous most of the time really."

 _"He makes you laugh?"_

Hermione smiled and nodded despite the fact that her mother couldn't see the gesture. "But then he'll be serious and I catch these glimpses of that boy I used to know and I…" Hermione shook her head and looked at the hands she had clasped tightly in her lap. "He kissed me last night, mum. _Really_ kissed me. Kissed me straight to my soul and I don't…"

She started to cry then and Ellen made a shushing sound. _"Oh, my love,"_ she said kindly.

"I like him, mum. I do," Hermione said, swiping at her tears, "I like him so bloody much. I shouldn't but I do and I'm scared. I'm so scared that he'll just…I'm afraid one day I'll come home and he'll remember that he hates me and he'll call me a Mudblood and then run off to France with someone prettier."

 _"Just because Ronald didn't realize what he had doesn't mean that-"_

"Draco was horrid to me in school, mum. HORRID," she said, sniffing and tracing the scars over her arm. "I can't even tell you the torture I suffered in his presence." She shook her head to herself again. "How can I forget that?"

 _"Has he said anything about his past actions?"_ Ellen asked gently.

"Yes," Hermione answered, reaching for a tissue from her nightstand. "He said he wished he could take it all back."

 _"And do you believe him?"_

Hermione was quiet for a long moment as she dabbed at her nose with the tissue. "Yes," she finally replied.

 _"Then you let the past go, Hermione,"_ Ellen said firmly. _"You start from that party and you move forward from there. If you'd never known him before then would there be any doubt that he was sincere in his feelings for you?"_

Hermione smiled as she idly folded the tissue in her hands. "No."

 _"Then you're sure."_ It was a statement, not a question.

"Yes," Hermione agreed softly. "Yes, mum, I think I am."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Darling!" Narcissa Malfoy cried happily, extending her arms to Draco as he entered the garden. "I'm so very pleased to see that you're alright."

Draco let her hug him gently and patted her lightly on the back. "Mother," he greeted. He took a step back when she released him and he gave her a serious look, pointedly ignoring the short blonde woman next to her. "I do apologize for missing what was surely a wonderful dinner."

Narcissa waved a hand at her son. "I understand, darling," she said airily. "You're a busy, _popular_ young man after all. People to see, things to do... I only wish you'd taken the time to Floo and let us know you couldn't make it."

Draco's eye twitched slightly at the way his mother slightly nudged the girl to her right at the word 'popular'. He cleared his throat.

"Again, I apologize," he said, slightly bowing his head. Narcissa smiled widely.

"It's quite alright. Though, perhaps you should also apologize to your guest. You do remember Viola?" she said, stepping back slightly and holding out a hand as if to present the young woman beside her. Draco finally looked over at her with a tight, yet polite expression.

"Miss Richmond," he said, bowing his head again.

"Draco," she nodded back with a coy smile. Draco's eye twitched again but he didn't have time to respond as Narcissa spoke up again.

"Viola's just come back from a year-long holiday away," she said with a sly smile tugging at her fine lips, "and the first person she thought to visit upon her return was you. Isn't that wonderful?"

"Convenient," Draco replied shortly. Narcissa's eyes started to narrow slightly at him but went wide again and looked away as they caught sight of Lucius coming down the garden's path.

"Pardon me a moment," she said, patting a hand to Viola's arm before walking away to meet her husband half-way down the path. Draco turned to watch as his parents spoke in undertones. He heard a soft feminine cough come from behind him and he turned back around to see Viola smiling at him expectantly.

"Are you ill?" Draco asked her, raising a brow. Viola merely returned a simpering smile.

"How kind of you to ask. No, I'm quite in fine health, thank you," she said sweetly. She tilted her head slightly. "You're looking quite well yourself."

Draco simply eyed her for a moment before replying with a stiff, "Thank you."

"Catching up already?" Narcissa said as she came back up to join them with Lucius at her side. Draco glanced at her and then his father who gave him a reproachful glare.

"Why don't you show Miss Richmond the pond, Draco," Lucius said calmly.

"That's a half mile walk from here," Draco frowned back. Lucius arched an eyebrow.

"Then the two of you will have plenty of time to enjoy one another's company," he said with a pursed smile, holding an arm out to his wife. Narcissa slipped hers through it and Lucius gave both Draco and Viola a bow. "See you at dinner," he said and then turned with his wife to walk back up to the house.

Draco glowered at his parents' retreating forms until they were out of sight and then slowly turned back to face Viola. They stood in awkward silence for a whole minute until Viola spoke again.

"Shall we then?" she asked quietly. She held out her arm as if expecting Draco to offer her his as Lucius had for Narcissa. He stared at her arm hovering in the air for another moment and then, with a resigned huff, took it in his own as they began their trek across the Manor grounds.

"Your…your parents are lovely," Viola said, obviously trying to start a conversation. Draco stared straight ahead.

"Well, they would be to you, wouldn't they?" he said without inflection. Viola looked sideways at him.

"Meaning?"

"A good-looking, pureblood girl that hasn't expressed a love of Muggle equality and hasn't cheated on me…" he all but sneered, "what's _not_ to be lovely to?"

Missing the sarcasm, Viola nearly failed to suppress the self-assured smirk that flitted across her face at that. "I was sorry to hear that your engagement hadn't worked out," she said, feigning sympathy.

"I'm sure you were quite broken up about it," Draco muttered, but Viola paid no attention.

"The _Prophet_ said that it was a mutual decision made in the best interest of your families," she continued, shaking her head disapprovingly, "how awful to finally learn that she cheated on you."

"Yes," Draco said curtly.

"Was it with anyone I know?" she asked boldly. Draco's jaw muscles ticked as he inhaled deeply.

"No," he forced out, "He was a Muggle."

Viola gasped in apparent shock with a hand to her chest. "She didn't!?"

When Draco said nothing and simply continued to glare ahead of them, Viola's shock turned to disgust.

"She did," she said making a face. "Ugh…sullied herself with a Muggle." She shook her head again. "You dodged an Avada with that one."

"Some people think that Muggles have just as much magic as we do," Draco said, causing Viola to cluck her tongue.

"That's preposterous. Muggles, by definition, are NOT magical in any way," she said surely.

"Did you know that they've created a vehicle that can travel over 17,000 miles per hour?" he asked, looking sideways at her as he steered them down a new path.

"And what possible use could a witch or wizard derive from that? We can travel anywhere in an instant with Apparation. Muggle machines are a waste of any decent wizard's time," she said with a sniff. Draco frowned straight ahead again and neither said anything more for a time until the pond came into view and Viola put her hand to her chest again.

"My goodness," she breathed at the sight of the perfectly manicured landscaping surrounding the large, bridge-covered pond.

"This is my mother's favorite spot on the grounds," Draco informed mechanically.

"I can see why," Viola smiled, tugging on Draco's arm to hurry him up onto the bridge. "This is stunning." She walked him to the center of the bridge and they turned to look out over the water. "Romantic too," she added, pressing herself closer to Draco's side. He looked around at the pond and the bridge and his face pulled into a grimace.

"I've seen better," he mumbled. Viola tilted her face up at him.

"Draco?"

"Why are you here?" Draco suddenly demanded, pulling his arm free from her.

Viola looked completely taken aback. "To see you," she answered as if it were obvious.

"Why?" he asked, taking a step away from her. "You haven't shown the tiniest bit of interest in me since before…before the war."

Viola took her own step back. "Perhaps I finally came to my senses and realized what a catch you are," she answered with her chin in the air defiantly.

"Would I be as big a catch if I weren't the wealthiest heir in Britain?" he challenged angrily.

"There's more to you than just your money," Viola replied, shifting uncomfortably.

"Oh, you're right about that," Draco nearly snarled at her. "Tell me," he went on, rolling up his shirt sleeve, "without my money could you overlook this?"

He thrust his left forearm out at her and after a quick glance at his Dark Mark, Viola turned her face away from it sharply. Draco scowled at her and yanked his shirt open to reveal his chest.

"Or how about this?" he asked, pointing to the scar running the length of his left pec. Viola refused to look and Draco nodded. "I thought so…"

"So what?" Viola demanded, finally turning back to him. "So what if I'm here because you've got money? It's not as if you've got many other options, _Draco,"_ she said, putting a nasty nuance into his name. She took a step forward and stood proudly. "I need a wealthy husband and you need a wife willing to put up with…that," she said gesturing to his arm. "I don't see the problem."

Draco said nothing and Viola suddenly softened. Taking yet another step closer, she reached forward to rebutton his shirt for him. "We could be great together…you and I," she said tenderly, placing a hand flat against his chest when she was done. "I'd be faithful at the very least," she added, moving her other hand up to comb her thin fingers through his hair.

Draco remained completely still as she then tiptoed up and placed a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

"Think about it," she said, pulling back and winding her arm through his again. Draco avoided her gaze as he inhaled deeply and simply gave a quick nod. Viola smiled wide and patted a hand to his arm.

"We're going to be great," she reassured as she leaned against him to look back out over the pond.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed the quick update. You knew there'd be conflict coming...right? Oh dear...**

 **Anyway, you all are absolutely stunning with your generous reviews! Seriously, I'm beside myself with happiness over how super wonderful you all are. Your words spur me on for sure!**


	12. Repercussions

"Hermione!"

Draco nearly tumbled out of Hermione's Floo and immediately made for the hallway.

"Hermione!"

"Draco?" Hermione came rushing out of her bedroom, and flipped on the hall light just in time to see Draco ascending the stairs. "Draco, what's wrong?"

He shook his head and lunged forward, wrapping his arms around her back and pulling her against him. He ducked down his head and captured her lips in a frantic kiss. Hermione gently pried him off and looked up at him with wide eyes.

"What the hell is wrong?" she asked anxiously as she watched Draco cast his gaze about and start to shake.

"If I told you I lost everything, what would you do?" he asked, bringing terrified grey eyes back to meet her worried chocolate brown ones.

"Draco…I…"

Draco stepped back from her and slumped against the wall. He slid down it to sit on the floor and started to rock back and forth slightly. "Oh fuck, oh, god, oh, fuck…" he started to chant. Hermione stared down at him in horror.

"Draco, _what_ happened?" Hermione asked, lowering herself to her knees beside him.

"I don't…I can't… oh, fuck…oh, god…" Draco's face screwed up like he was really about to lose it and Hermione placed a hand gently to his cheek to turn it to look at her.

"What. Happened?"

Draco met her gaze and she held her breath at the water welling up in his eyes. "He did it," he said. "I didn't think he'd actually do it, but he did it. And Mother...all she did was stand there and watch him."

"Your father?" Hermione clarified and Draco nodded dumbly, his gaze going distant. He let his head fall back against the wall with a thud and stared off at the ceiling.

"He did it," he simply repeated in a broken whisper. Hermione shifted on the floor beside him and put a hand on his knee.

"What did he do?"

Draco closed his eyes and a tear streaked down his cheek as he scrunched up his face. His Adam's apple bobbed as he apparently braced himself to answer and Hermione tensed.

"He…he burned me off the family tree," he finally choked out.

Hermione gaped at him in silent shock and Draco finally broke down. He hunched over to bury his face in his arms crossed on his knees. His body shook with quiet sobs and Hermione tentatively reached forward to smooth a hand to the back of his neck.

"Why?" she asked gently. Draco shook his head slightly before tilting it to peek one red eye up at her.

"I told him," he sniffed and then hid his face again. Hermione leaned back.

"You told him? Told him what exactly?" she asked, her eyes wide again with anxiety and her hand stilling at the base of his neck.

"I…I just couldn't do it…I couldn't…" he muffled into his arms.

"Draco, what're you-"

"Goddamn it!" he shouted suddenly, throwing his head back, his hands gripped into his hair. "Fuck!"

Hermione shrunk back a little. "Dra-"

"I couldn't do it, Hermione!" he gasped, lowering his hands and turning to her with a wild, desperate look. "All through dinner, it, it was…it was 'future this' and 'wedding that' and that fucking _cow_ kept kissing me…and for a minute I almost considered it…but I couldn't. Not after… Oh gods, I'm sorry…I'm so fucking sorry…" He bowed his head and Hermione reached forward to pull him into a hug. He started to cry again and Hermione squeezed him tighter.

"Sshh," she soothed into his ear. "Just calm down, Draco. Calm down."

She allowed him a minute to get himself under control and when his gasps turned into sniffles, she released her arms from him and sat back on her heels.

"Now," she said calmly, brushing a stray lock of his hair off his forehead, "tell me what happened…from the beginning."

Draco inhaled a steadying breath as he moved to face her on the floor. He looked up at her with a guilty pout. "Do you remember Viola Richmond?"

Hermione furrowed her brow slightly. "Vaguely," she said, squinting in thought, "she was a year or two younger than us…a Slytherin?"

Draco nodded. "Yeah. She…" He paused and closed his eyes with another deep breath. "She read about my break-up with Tori and she told my parents that she was interested in me. So they invited her to the Manor."

"Okay…" Hermione said, taking her own calming breath, "and then what?"

"I was as good as engaged to her before I even stepped into the garden to greet her as ordered," he said, his pout becoming more pronounced. "They made me entertain her all day."

"Entertain?" Hermione asked with a grimace.

"I walked her around the grounds. She talked a lot, mostly about herself," he answered.

"You kissed her?"

Draco shook his head adamantly. "She kissed me."

Hermione searched his face for a moment. "How many times?" she asked quietly.

"Three," he answered honestly. "Once by my mother's pond and then twice at dinner. I… the third time is when I…I…" He began to look distraught again and started to hyperventilate. Hermione placed a hand to his chin and made him look at her.

"When you what?" Hermione coaxed firmly. Draco's eyes met hers again.

"When…when I flipped out and told them all about you."

Hermione stared at him. "You told them about _me_?"

Draco nodded. "About _us_." He looked down then and slumped back on the wall again. "And then the next thing I know, I'm being hexed out of my own house."

He leaned his head back again and covered his face with his hands. "I knew it would be bad…" he went on, "…that they'd be upset, but I never…not after everything I did for them…what we went through. To burn me off…"

He lowered his hands and looked miserably up at the light fixture on the ceiling. "And now you're going to leave me, and I'll have nothing. Nothing but the clothes I'm wearing and the wand in my po-umph!"

His words were cut off as Hermione grabbed his head roughly and pulled him into an intense kiss. Draco's eyes went wide with shock as she tugged his face closer and kissed him so hard he had to brace himself against the wall.

He blinked once. Then twice. Then closed his eyes and fisted his hands into her hair and began returning her kisses with equal fervor. Hermione raised up to her knees again when he did so and straddled him.

"I'm…sorry…" Draco breathed rapidly between kisses. Hermione tugged at him harder.

"Shut up," she growled, capturing his lips again.

"But…but I am," he panted, forcing her back just enough to look her in the eyes and lean his forehead to hers. "You…you deserve so much better."

"Draco…" she started, but he shook his head against hers.

"I have nothing now, Hermione."

Hermione pulled back and looked at him tenderly. "You have a room right there," she said, pointing to the guest room door beside them, "with a closet and dresser full of clothes and shoes and two-hundred and twenty-six stupid belts. And downstairs you've got a living room full of DVDs to watch and a kitchen full of food and appliances you can destroy."

Draco started to smile but it faded almost at once. "I have no money. No job. I can't ask you to support me."

Hermione frowned slightly. "What about your Muggle bank account? How much do you have in there?"

"Barely enough to pay off the credit card," he said dismally. Hermione's mouth twisted in thought.

"Hang on," she said, pushing up from him to stand. She hurried down the hall to her bedroom and returned a second later with several envelopes clutched in her hands. "Do you think I'll still be able to deposit these?" she asked, kneeling back down beside him and holding out the envelopes he'd given her with payments for the Muggle lessons.

Draco blinked down at them. "You…you never deposited them?" he asked in disbelief. He took the four envelopes from her. "And but for the first one, you never even opened them…" he said in quiet awe.

Hermione shrugged. "I didn't see the point to. I never had any intention of depositing them."

"Never had any inten…Hermione," he said sounding a bit crazed, "Do you have any idea how much is here?"

She frowned at him. "Four-thousand Galleons? The first one was for a thousand..."

Draco made a noise between a laugh and a sigh. "Open this!" he ordered, thrusting out the envelope he'd given her after their time sorting the items from the shopping excursion. Hermione took it and, with a shifty look at him, opened it and pulled out two slips of parchment. One of the parchments appeared to be a note and Hermione held it up to read it.

 _'Advance payment for indefinite use of your Muggle books, DVDs, and devices.'_

Hermione glanced up at Draco who was eyeing her before setting the note aside to look back down at the payment voucher. She read the amount, blinked at it and then raised her eyes back to Draco.

"A million Galleons?" she whispered. "Wha..."

"I wondered why you hadn't said anything," Draco let a smirk grace his face again. "I'd half expected you to hex me over the amount and then refuse it."

Hermione looked back down at the slip in her hands. "I would've," she said breathlessly. Draco ripped open the other envelopes and then handed her the thousand-Galleon vouchers they'd contained.

"They'll still work," he said, a tiny tone of hope in his voice. "Even if Father already...they'll still work," he said again. "They were valid when I wrote them and that's all the goblins will care about."

Hermione didn't say anything as she continued to stare dumbfounded down at the amount and Draco's face fell again.

"I...I know it's not a lot," he muttered, "but at le-"

"Not a lot?" Hermione interrupted, finally darting her eyes back up to him. "Are you kidding? I only make a thousand Galleons a month!"

Draco looked simultaneously puzzled, scared, and angry. "That's it?" he asked.

Hermione nodded. "Yes. I earn more than most Ministry workers, actually."

Draco started to breathe quickly again and, sensing the oncoming panic attack, Hermione tugged him tight against her and hugged him.

"I…I don't know how to live on that," Draco confessed fretfully, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"I'll teach you," she answered, rubbing his back. He made an anxious noise and Hermione leaned back slightly to look him in the face again. "We will make this last," she assured, holding the million-Galleon parchment up, "this is more than most people will see in a lifetime. You'll be alright. We will make this work."

Draco didn't say anything and just stared at her looking utterly lost. She pulled him close again as she continued to try and calm him.

"We'll make this work," she said again softly, placing a kiss to his forehead. Draco moved his head down to bury his face into the side of her neck and Hermione shushed him gently when she felt tears hit her skin again.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Hermione gave her reflection a long, searching look and then exhaled deeply before turning her gaze to the door that linked the upstairs bathroom with the guest room. She went to it, unlocked it and then knocked gently.

"Draco?" she said, cracking the door. He didn't answer and she remained in the bathroom, her hand on the handle. "If you need to use the loo, I've expanded the wards to let you in here without me so you don't have to go all the way downstairs."

There was still no response and Hermione looked troubled at the door, but still didn't open it any further. "Just…make sure you lock the door that links to my room if you come in here, so I don't accidentally walk in on you, okay?" she added quietly.

Silence.

"Draco?" Hermione waited another minute before finally peeking into the room. "Draco?"

She took one step inside and then stopped at the sight of Draco sitting on the edge of the bed. He was bent forward with his feet planted on the floor and his arms resting on his knees. He was staring blankly down at the wand he was holding between both hands in front of him. Hermione zeroed in on the wand and her mouth twisted in thought.

"I'll…I'll lift the restrictions on your magic usage here in the morning," she said. Draco made no indication that he heard her and she cleared her throat. "I'd do it now," she offered, "but the ward is really complicated and I think it'd be wiser to reverse it after a night's rest."

Draco still gave no response as he blinked slowly at his hands. Hermione shifted worriedly near the door.

"Um…can I get you anything? Are these blankets okay? I've got others. Pillows too…"

He merely blinked again and Hermione bit her lip.

"Do you want to talk?" she asked hesitantly. Draco still didn't move and Hermione nodded to herself. "Okay…I'll…I'll just let you alone then."

She took a step toward the door to go, but caught sight of the two cats curled up on the bed behind him. "Are the cats bothering you at all?"

Draco's eyes remained on his hands, but his head shook almost imperceptibly. Hermione gave another slight nod.

"Okay," she whispered, "I'll…I'll see you in the morning then. If you need anything come and get me."

Draco's mouth pouted slightly at that and Hermione made a motion like she was about to step back into the room, but thought better of it.

"Good night, Draco," she finally said and began to pull the door closed.

"Don't…"

Hermione halted her step at the sound of Draco's shaky voice. She reopened the door all the way and looked back at him. He tilted his face in her direction, but kept his eyes down cast.

"Stay?" he whispered. Hermione stared at him for a moment and then came all the way into the room and sat down gently beside him on the bed. Draco said nothing and simply turned his attention back to his hands. Hermione turned her head to study him and her brow furrowed slightly when she roamed her eyes down to the hands he was staring at to see him twisting hard at a ring on his finger.

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked, frowning at the pink, swollen knuckle on his ring finger. Draco glared downward as he continued to work at the ring.

"I can't get it off," he muttered, yanking hard at it. He grunted slightly and tossed aside his wand that had been gripped in his palm. "I couldn't use magic to resize it and I can't get it over my knuckle."

He took hold of the ring with all of the fingers on his other hand and proceeded to pull with obvious force to try and remove it.

"I can't get it off…get it off!" he shouted, starting to look panicked as he tugged so violently at the ring that his finger began turning purple. Hermione reached out and grabbed at his hands.

"Draco, stop," she said firmly.

"I want it off," he said trying to pull his hands away from hers, but Hermione held on tight.

"Let me see," she ordered. Draco relaxed a little and allowed her to turn over his hands to inspect the finger with the ring. She looked down at the silver band faceted with a small coat of arms and ran her thumb over the 'M' in the center of it.

"Your family crest?" she asked gently.

"Not anymore," Draco said flatly. Hermione sighed sadly.

"They are still your family," she said, squeezing his hand slightly.

"Not according to my father," he said, turning his head away from her.

Hermione continued to look down at his ring as she spoke. "They love you," she said quietly. He made a rude noise and she gently twisted the ring back down to rest comfortably on his finger. "They do," she insisted, "Your mother even risked her life for you."

"She watched him, Hermione," he replied, sounding far away. "She watched him and said nothing. Did nothing but cry. Let him do it and then turned her back as he shoved me into the Floo yelling at me to go back to..."

Hermione looked up at him. "Back to your Mudblood whore?" she finished for him when he trailed off. Draco snapped his head back to face her. A mixture of fury and heartbreak raged in his mercurial eyes.

"I want this fucking ring off…now," he said angrily. Hermione hesitated only a moment and then released his hands to bend over and pick his wand up from the floor.

"May I?" she asked, holding it up in a gesture seeking permission to use it. Draco gave a half shrug.

"Be my guest," he said, offering out his hand. A quick tap of the wand to the ring enlarged it slightly and Hermione gently pulled it over his inflamed knuckle to remove it from his hand. The band immediately re-sized and Hermione held it out to him.

Draco glared at the ring as he took back his hand and rubbed gingerly at his sore finger.

"Here," Hermione said, holding out the ring further when he failed to take it. Draco shook his head at it.

"You can have it," he said.

"Okay," Hermione said quietly, apparently at a loss for anything else to say. She suddenly let go of the ring.

"Ouch!" she yelped as both she and Draco watched it fall and then bounce on the short pile carpeting to rest near the bed post.

"What the hell was that!?" she demanded, snapping her head back up to stare at him and shaking out her hand as Odin bounded off the bed to pounce on the ring.

"What was what?" he asked.

Hermione stopped shaking her hand to inspect the pads of her fingers. "It shocked me."

Draco's eyes widened slightly as he looked back down to watch Odin bat at the offending piece of jewelry. "It did?"

"Does it have a 'muggle-born detection' charm on it or something?" she joked darkly as she conjured a cloth.

"I wouldn't be surprised," he replied with a slight sneer as Hermione bent down and shooed Odin away to carefully pick up the ring in the cloth. "Just another reason for me not to keep it."

Hermione straightened back up and set the cloth-wrapped ring and his wand on the nightstand.

"Are your fingers alright?" Draco asked when she turned back to him. She nodded.

"I think so."

They sat there then, both staring at their own hands, with only the sound of Crookshanks' sleepy purring to break the silence. Hermione finally glanced up to see Draco looking entirely miserable again.

"I…I'm going to take off of work tomorrow," she said, reaching up to gently tuck a piece of his hair behind his ear, "that way we can try and figure this out together." She went to pull her hand away, but Draco suddenly snagged her wrist. He brought her hand to his cheek and nuzzled her palm.

"Thank you," he said quietly. They locked eyes and Hermione gave him a small, encouraging smile.

"Everything will be okay," she said surely. Draco returned a weak half smile and Hermione placed her other hand to his other cheek. "I promise," she added. Draco inhaled deeply and then leaned toward her to kiss her. The moment their lips touched a small jolt passed between them and they broke apart.

"Did you feel that?" Draco asked in alarm, swiping the back of his hand over his mouth.

"That's what it felt like when the ring zapped me," she answered, smacking the tingle from her lips. Draco quickly leaned into her and kissed her again. He pulled back a moment later and they stared at each other.

"It didn't happen that time…" Draco noted curiously. He gave her another quick peck with no resulting jolt and Hermione frowned slightly.

"I wonder what that was about," she said, glancing at the small cloth bundle that contained his discarded ring. Draco looked back at the nightstand as well and frowned at the cloth before bringing his attention back to Hermione.

"Who knows?" he said, wrapping an arm around her back. Hermione focused on his face again and leaned into his body. Draco started to lie back and tugged at her to join him. She allowed herself to cuddle down next to him in the bed, careful to avoid crushing Crookshanks' sleeping form.

"For what it's worth," she said turning into Draco and placing a hand to his chest, "I think what you did was brave. I know what it's like to risk losing your family."

Draco simply stared up at the ceiling and tightened his arm around her.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"How could you?" Narcissa glared at her husband from the doorway of their bedroom suite.

Lucius barely glanced up from the book in his hands as he lounged in their bed. He didn't reply and simply continued to read. Narcissa slashed her wand in front of her and the book shredded to bits in Lucius's hands.

"Our son," she said, stowing her wand and pulling a handkerchief to dab at the tears trickling down her smooth cheeks, " _your_ son. How _could_ you?"

Lucius sighed deeply and removed his reading spectacles. He rubbed tiredly at his face and then met his wife's angry gaze.

"I merely blackened it," he said heavily. When Narcissa arched an eyebrow at him he went on. "Do you really believe I'd disown him, ma belle?"

"It looked real enough," she said as she sagged a little.

"That was the point," Lucius replied, sitting up straighter in the bed. "He needed to realize what he's jeopardizing by pursuing this foolish fancy with that… _girl_."

"But to make him think that he's no longer welcome…" Narcissa sniffed miserably.

"Does fifteen-hundred years of pureblood lineage mean nothing to you?" he challenged his wife.

"Does it mean more to you than your only son's well-being?"

Lucius looked at her reproachfully. "He's nearly his own man. If a few days on his own breaks him then we've got bigger problems than a Mudblood."

Narcissa frowned disapprovingly at the slur, but merely pressed on. "You believe he'll come to his senses in only a few days' time?"

"I give him a week at most," Lucius said with a nod. "He'll realize what he's lost and come back repentant and eager to start anew with the charming Miss Richmond."

Narcissa sighed and then looked thoughtful. "You did obliviate her properly, yes?"

"Of course," he answered with a nod, "No sense in chancing the _Prophet_ learning the truth about that Greengrass trollop. We'll be sure to invite Miss Richmond back once Draco's returned."

Narcissa nodded in agreement and then turned to leave.

"Where are you off to, then?" her husband called after her.

"To remove the stain covering our son's handsome face," she called over her shoulder.

Lucius watched his wife go and then set his spectacles back on his nose. After a frown down at the shredded paper in his lap he pulled his wand from the walking stick leaning against the nightstand beside him to fix it. He replaced the wand and then flipped the book open before him. Just as he settled into reading once more he was startled by Narcissa's panicked voice booming down the hall.

"LUCIUS! Lucius come quickly!"

Throwing the book aside, Lucius snatched up the walking stick and bolted out of bed to rush out of the room and down the hall.

"What!?" he demanded sternly, coming up behind his wife as she stood before the giant tapestry of the Malfoy/Black family tree. "What's wrong!?"

Narcissa merely pointed a shaking finger to a face directly beside Draco's still blackened image. Lucius stepped up and narrowed his eyes at the tapestry. The blood immediately drained from his face at what he saw upon the ancient arras.

"I…I don't think he'll be over this fancy in a few days," Narcissa said, turning a stricken expression to her husband.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 **A/N: Was this what you expected?**

 **Now don't worry…Draco's not done discovering the joys of the Muggle world. And I rated this M for a reason. ;)**

 **Thank you for reading and reviewing!**


	13. Breakfast

"I'm back!"

Draco barely heard Hermione's voice as she called out her return through the bathroom door. He gave his face a final scrub in the hot stream of the shower and then turned off the tap. He slicked his dripping hair back as he stepped out of the shower.

"Hermione!" he called out, grabbing a fluffy grey towel hanging on the wall.

"Yes!?" came her slightly muffled reply through the door. "Do you need something?"

Draco stretched as he began drying his face. "Yeah, you can come in!" he shouted back. The door handle turned and Hermione stepped into the bathroom.

"Draco, what did y – Oh gods!" she said, quickly covering her eyes at the sight of Draco standing naked, towel in hand, just outside the shower. "I'm so sorry! I thought you said I could come in," she apologized with her hand still over the top of her face.

Draco smirked as he began rubbing the towel over his hair. "I did," he said unperturbed.

"But you're naked!" Hermione said, peeking an eye over her hand to look at his face. Draco shrugged.

"One generally is when exiting the shower," he chuckled. Hermione made a huff and Draco went on. "Is this a problem?" he asked, eyeing his reflection in the mirror across from him. "Do I have something to be ashamed of?"

Hermione glanced down at his naked form. "Well…no," she answered as a pink blush spread over her cheeks and she darted her eyes up again. Draco's smug smirk got wider.

"Then stop covering your face like a first year. It's not like you were never going to see it anyway," he said as he moved the towel down to dry his back and torso. Hermione lowered her hand, but tilted her chin upwards to make it obvious that she was keeping her gaze above his waist.

"What did you need?" she asked, avoiding his last statement.

"I just wanted to see you," Draco shrugged again as he stepped up to the sink counter and finally wrapped the towel around his waist. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"You couldn't wait until you got dressed?" she asked crossing her arms.

"Nope," he answered, leaning forward and grinning wide to inspect his teeth in the mirror. "I can't get dressed yet."

Hermione furrowed her brow slightly at him as she watched him scrape a finger over his top teeth. She stepped over and pulled open a drawer and took from it a new, unused toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste. She set them on the counter in front of him. Draco looked down at them and smiled.

"You just keep new toothbrushes stashed about?" he asked.

"My parents are dentists, if you recall," Hermione sighed, leaning back on the counter next to him. "And why is it exactly that you cannot yet get dressed?"

Draco inclined his head towards the toilet atop which rested his discarded boxers and t-shirt. "I was hoping you could zap those with a cleaning spell first. I'm not sure how Muggles operate, but I'd prefer not to wear the same underpants two days in a row without them being cleaned and I don't have any others here."

Hermione smiled and pushed off the counter. "Be right back," she said, leaving the room. She came back a moment later carrying a shopping bag.

"I made a quick trip down to the corner store after I was done at Gringotts and got these for you," she said, reaching her hand into the bag to pull out several items and set them on the counter. "Boxers, socks, razor, and deodorant."

Draco picked up the stick of deodorant. He held it up with an eyebrow arched in question.

"It works the same as the antiperspirant salve most wizards are used to, but less messy," Hermione explained, opening another drawer to pull out her own stick. "One of the things Muggles have managed to make better," she added, raising an arm to mimic putting it on as a demonstration. Draco hummed and uncapped it.

"Not bad," he marveled as he sniffed it and then raised each arm in turn to apply it.

"If you don't like the smell of it, you can pick out a different one later," Hermione offered. Draco shook his head.

"No, it's good," he said, setting down the deodorant and smiling first at the underclothes she'd brought then at her. "Thank you."

Hermione nodded. "It was no trouble. I figured you'd need them if you're going to be staying a while."

Draco's smile faded and he quickly turned his attention back to the counter. He unconsciously rubbed at the indent on the finger where his family ring had been the night before as he frowned down at the sink. Hermione sighed sadly and stepped up behind him.

"You'll be okay," she said softly, hugging him around his back and kissing his shoulder. She watched him close his eyes in the mirror as he put a hand to one of her arms and squeezed. Hermione squeezed her arms a little tighter in response before loosening her grip and pulling away.

"Finish getting ready," she ordered quietly. "And then come downstairs and I'll show you how to make breakfast."

Draco opened his eyes and met her gaze in the mirror. "I'm shite at cooking," he said, allowing himself to smirk a little. Hermione smiled back.

"So am I," she confessed. When Draco smiled a little wider at that, Hermione moved to the door. "I'll see you in a bit."

Draco nodded at her and she left, closing the door behind her. He stared at the door a moment and then looked back at his reflection. He puffed a heavy breath and then picked up the package of boxers from the counter to open them.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Well!?" Narcissa demanded of her husband the moment he arrived home. Lucius tugged off his traveling cloak and tossed it none too gently at a side table.

"No one has seen him," he replied, his voice thick with frustration as he sunk his body down into a nearby chair and rubbed at his forehead.

Narcissa swiftly sat herself in the chair facing the one he occupied. "How can that be?" she asked anxiously. "No one at the Ministry remembers seeing him? Did you inquire about the night shift employees? He had to have gone in late to-"

"He didn't go to the Ministry," Lucius interrupted, lowering his hand to look very seriously at his wife. "They have no record of any marriage performed there yesterday."

Narcissa shook her head, "How can there be no record of it?"

"Oh, there's a record of it," Lucius nearly growled, "I said there's no record that it was done at the Ministry."

"So…it's a valid union?" she asked lamentably.

Lucius closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the chair. "Yes," he said tiredly. He reached into a robe pocket and pulled out a small rolled parchment. He held it out in Narcissa's direction without opening his eyes. She took the parchment and carefully opened it to read the official scroll.

 _The Ministry of Magic hereby certifies that_

 _Draco Lucius Malfoy, son of Lucius Malfoy II,_

 _and_

 _Hermione Jean Granger, daughter of Gene Oliver Granger,_

 _Were freely bound in magical matrimony the sixth day of June in the year 2004_

 _In the City of London_

 _By means of a Familial Legacy Enchantment_

Narcissa placed a manicured hand to her lips as she continued to stare down at the parchment. "He gave her his ring?" she whispered in disbelief.

"And it would appear that she has accepted it," Lucius sighed, eyes still closed.

"But," Narcissa said, shaking her head at the parchment, "when did you tell him about the ring's enchantment?"

Lucius opened his eyes and gave her a sorrowful look. "I didn't," he said, rubbing the ring on his own hand between his thumb and index finger. "He's much too impulsive. If I'd told him I'm sure he'd have married that Parkinson girl at the age of fifteen. I simply told him never to take it off. It's likely he doesn't even realize what he's done."

Narcissa frowned her thin lips. "And how exactly do you intend to fix this?" she asked angrily.

Lucius narrowed his eyes at her. "You think this is _my_ fault?"

"Well, I certainly doubt he'd have removed the ring had he not believed he'd been cast out," she answered back coolly. Lucius looked angry for a moment, but then closed his eyes again and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You know that was not my intention," he said quietly.

"No," Narcissa agreed, "your intention was to scare him into submission. As if he's not had enough of that sort of-"

"Don't," Lucius cut her off sharply, lowering his hand. Narcissa backed down at the urgent tone of his voice and cast her eyes to the floor. They sat in a tense silence for several minutes until Narcissa quietly summoned a quill and parchment and got up to place them in her husband's lap.

"Write to him," she ordered calmly, "write him and apologize and tell him to come back. If we're lucky, they haven't fully consummated the bond yet and we'll be able to annul it."

Lucius gave his wife a dubious look and she simply motioned to the parchment again. "Write him," she repeated before turning and walking away. Lucius watched her go and then frowned down at the items in his lap.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Perhaps we should have started with something simpler," Hermione cringed, shielding herself with a dishrag as yoke splattered in her direction. Draco growled at the smashed shell and goop in his hand.

"If I can get an 'O' in advanced potions, I think I can learn to cook a fucking egg," he snapped, chucking the mess into a nearby bin and then wiping his hand on a towel before picking up a new egg.

Hermione stepped up to his side and picked up an egg of her own. "Try approaching it like you're brewing a potion, then," she suggested, tapping the egg firmly, yet carefully on the edge of a bowl. "Think each step through. Make precise, deliberate decisions when handling each ingredient." She grasped the cracked egg at both ends and, with seeming expertise, broke the shell into two equal halves to deposit the contents into the bowl.

"Know-it-all," Draco muttered. Hermione elbowed him and he laughed.

"Do you want to learn this or not?" she demanded, binning the empty shell.

"I think I'd prefer to watch you make it and then eat it," he answered, tossing his egg up in the air. Hermione winced as he caught it, expecting it to break and Draco laughed again.

"You thought I was going to break it, didn't you?" he asked with a sly grin. Hermione frowned.

"Well, you've already managed to smash two all over my counter," she said with a pointed look at the mess he'd made. Draco tossed the egg up again and caught it easily with a shrug.

"My hands know how to handle delicate things," he added with a waggle of his brows.

"Clearly," Hermione replied, shaking her head and running her index finger through a puddle of egg whites. Without warning, she reached up and smeared it across his cheek.

Draco's eyes dilated as his mouth went slack. "You did not just do that," he said in a low voice. Hermione simply dipped her finger into more egg.

"Oh, I did that," she said cheekily, lifting her finger in a manner that threatened she'd do it again. Before she could do so, though, Draco, quick as lightning, swiped his finger across the counter and deposited a sizeable amount of egg stuffs on her nose.

"Eck!" Hermione rubbed at her nose and then immediately wiped her hand down his face.

Draco chuckled darkly as he swiped his forearm over his sticky cheek and held up the whole egg he still had in his other hand. "Oh, witch, you are in trouble now."

Hermione bit her lip as they stared at each other in a playful stand-off. Her eyes darted to the carton of eggs on the counter and Draco shook his head.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he taunted, tossing his egg up again. Hermione took advantage of the action and lunged at the counter to try and grab a new egg of her own. Draco sprung forward at the same time and grabbed an arm around her middle to pull her away from the counter just as her fingers wrapped around an egg.

"Don't you dare! Don't you dare!" Hermione squealed as she wriggled in his grasp, her back to his chest, and he waved the egg threateningly over her head.

"What will you give me not to?" Draco purred in her ear, tightening his grip. Hermione stilled and looked over her shoulder at him.

"You know that all I have to do is say one word and my wards will shred the fuck out of you, right?" she said smugly. Draco simply grinned and pressed his face closer to hers.

"Do it then," he challenged. Hermione returned his grin and bent forward suddenly to break his hold on her and, in one fluid motion, whirled around to face him and smashed the egg into his hair. Draco grunted in surprise as Hermione began laughing. She doubled over at the sight of yoke dripping down his forehead and Draco raised a brow at her before very calmly reaching forward to smash his egg onto her head.

She stopped laughing as he rubbed the egg's messy goo into her curls.

"You are so dead!" she cried, lunging again to the counter for the carton. Draco did the same and their hands scrambled over each other's as they each tried to take hold of more ammunition. Hermione got one first and blindly chucked it at him. The egg broke against Draco's chest and he laughed as he took hold of an egg in each hand and proceeded to smash one down the back of her shirt and the other on the top of her head again.

Hermione shrieked as she stepped back to try and flee, but Draco blocked her way and forced her against the nearby refrigerator. He placed an arm on either side of her to trap her in place and bore down on her.

"Looks like I won," he said triumphantly. Hermione wrinkled her nose at him, but smiled as they both panted slightly to catch their breath. Draco roamed his eyes over her and then, after pushing an egg-soaked curl off her forehead, ducked down his head to kiss her in earnest.

Hermione whimpered slightly as he slipped his arms around her lower back but then lifted her right hand that was still clutching an egg and brought it against the side of his head to splatter it into his white-blond hair. He pulled back and gave her a look.

"Really?" he admonished playfully, wiping at the side of his face where the egg began dripping down, as Hermione laughed loudly.

"A Gryffindor never gives up," she smirked as she laughed. Draco shook his head and pressed himself closer to her.

"And a Slytherin never forgets," he countered with a devious sneer. "Better watch your back, princess."

Hermione tilted her chin up defiantly and Draco stole another kiss.

"Prat," she sighed when he pulled up again.

"Is Muggle breakfast always this much fun?" he asked, finally stepping back and tugging at his soiled shirt.

"Not usually," Hermione said as she pulled her wand and began siphoning the yoke, egg whites, and shell bits from their hair, clothes, the counter and floor. Draco held still and watched as she collected the messiness into a single floating blob in the center of the kitchen and then levitated it to the rubbish bin.

"We shouldn't have wasted all those," Hermione sighed, stowing her wand when the job was done. Draco ruffled his now egg-free hair.

"Hey, don't blame me," he said defensively, "you started it."

Hermione rolled her eyes at him, but smiled as she moved to a cabinet and pulled down a box and two bowls. "Yes, well….now you get cold cereal for breakfast," she replied, bringing the items to the island.

Draco sat himself upon one of the stools as Hermione then went to retrieve milk and spoons.

"I trust you can figure this out for yourself," she said when she came back and set the milk down next to the cereal box and clinked a spoon into Draco's bowl. He grinned.

"Now this is my kind of cooking," he said as he opened the box and poured a healthy portion of flakes into his bowl. Hermione smiled back as she settled herself onto a stool. She prepared a bowl for herself when Draco was done and they ate in comfortable silence for a bit until they were disturbed by a loud tapping at the kitchen window.

They both looked up to see a large, tawny eagle owl waiting on the other side of the pane. Draco smiled at the bird as Hermione got up and went to the window. She opened it and the bird hopped inside and clicked at Draco who had stood to join them at the window.

"He, girl," Draco said affectionately as he scratched her behind one of her feathery horns. "Did Father toss you out too?"

Hermione made a sad face at the forlorn tone of his voice, but simply reached out to pet the majestic bird. "This is your owl?" she asked. Draco nodded.

"This is Artie…well, Artemis," he said with a reverent look at the preening bird. "Do you mind if she stays? She's friendly," he added, looking up at Hermione.

She shook her head. "Not at all. She can share Doctor Hoo's nesting box. And I've got plenty of owl treats."

Draco snorted a laugh. "Who's Doctor Hoo?"

"My owl, of course," Hermione answered, still petting Artie. "She's a barn owl."

"I never noticed an owl here," Draco observed thoughtfully.

Hermione motioned to the yard beyond the window. "She prefers to stay outside, so I set her box up out there. It's rather spacious and Hoo's sociable with other owls, so it shouldn't be a problem for Artie to stay."

Just as Draco tilted his head to look out across the back lawn another eagle owl came swooping down to land on the sill. The giant bird nearly bowled Artemis over and the two owls clicked and fluttered angrily at each other as Draco and Hermione jumped backwards.

"I thought you said she was friendly?" Hermione cringed as she watched the birds fight. Draco grabbed a towel from the counter and swatted forcefully at the other owl until it backed off and Artemis flew all the way into the house to perch atop one of the cabinets with an indignant ruffling of her feathers.

"She is," Draco said as he scowled at the larger eagle owl that was now taking up the space in the open window. "This one's not," he added, pointing at it accusingly.

"It has a letter," Hermione noted.

"I'm sure it does," Draco nearly spat. "It's my father's owl."

Lucius's owl held out its right talon, in which was clutched a sealed scroll. Draco simply glared at it.

"Aren't you going to read it?" Hermione asked hesitantly. Draco shook his head.

"I'd rather not. Do you have a quill?"

"There's a pen in the top drawer there," she suggested. Draco went to the drawer and pulled out a ballpoint pen.

"Perfect," he smirked at the Muggle writing utensil. He went back to his father's owl and snatched the scroll from its grip. Without opening it, he wrote something on the outside of it and then thrust it back out to the bird. The owl took it, turned about and flew off.

"You probably should have read that," Hermione said with a slight frown. "What if he was sending word that he'd rethought his de-"

"He didn't rethink anything, Hermione," Draco said surely with an angry pout. "That, more than likely, was either an official notice of my eviction or a reminder that my access to the vaults has been revoked…or both."

Hermione looked back out the window at the owl that was already a speck in the distance and sighed. "I still think you ought to have read it."

Draco shook his head as he sat back down on the stool and tucked back into his cereal. "But, speaking of vaults," he said with a somewhat forced casualness, "did you have any trouble making the deposits earlier?"

Hermione came back to the island. "No," she said as she sat, "but the goblin did act a bit strange."

"How so?" Draco asked seriously, setting down his spoon. Hermione shrugged.

"He kept asking me which vault I wanted to deposit to. I kept telling him MY vault and he just kept saying 'yes, which one?' I only have ONE vault."

Draco furrowed his brow slightly. "That is strange. Goblins aren't known to make mistakes."

Hermione nodded in agreement. "I finally just showed him my vault key and then after that it was business as usual. I think perhaps he was trying to be thorough. Some of them are still a bit wary of me."

"You did rob them once," Draco smirked as he picked his spoon back up.

"I was cleared of those charges," Hermione replied coolly. Draco hummed.

"Doesn't mean you didn't do it," he said. Hermione looked at him thoughtfully for a moment and then summoned the pen he'd used earlier and a piece of paper.

"What are you writing?" he asked curiously as she began to scribble on the paper. She said nothing and simply slid the paper across the island surface to him.

"Since it seems you'll indeed be staying here, I think it prudent to establish a set of ground rules to ensure a comfortable arrangement," she said as he picked up the paper and read it. "Rule Number One…"

" _There is to be no mention of, allusion to, or discussion about any implied, rumored or actual past criminal transgressions,"_ Draco read aloud.

Hermione nodded. "Do you have an issue with Rule Number One?"

Draco shook his head. "No, I think Rule Number One suits me just fine. Give me the pen." He held out his hand and Hermione passed it over. He bent over the paper to add Rule Number Two. Hermione watched him with interest until he finished and slid the paper and pen back to her.

 _"Rule Number Two,"_ she read, " _one will not address the other by their surname."_ She nodded. "That's fair enough." She wrote another rule and handed it back. Draco laughed out loud when he read it.

"Oh, I think you and I will get along just fine," he said with a wink.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Lucius stood in the middle of the manor gardens, the scrolled parchment his owl had returned to him clutched in his right hand, and stared blankly out across the grounds.

"Lucius?" Narcissa said quietly as she stepped up to his side and placed a hand to his upper arm. Her husband said nothing and merely swallowed hard as he continued to look forward. Narcissa glanced down at the parchment in his hand and inhaled deeply. "Lucius, what did he say?" she asked hesitantly.

He still said nothing in response, but held up the unopened scroll. Narcissa gently took it from his grasp and rolled it over in her fingers to read Draco's message written in his perfect flowing script in blue, Muggle ink.

 _"Omnia vincit amor."_

 _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

 **A/N: Your reviews make me stupid giddy. I love it. I love you. I love this fandom. You just rock...**

 **Oh, and...'omnia vincit amor' is Latin for 'love conquers all' :)**


	14. Headline News

"So, which movies have you got lined up to view today?" Hermione asked over her shoulder as she tucked a last pin into her hair. Draco shrugged.

"I didn't pick any yet. I thought I might tackle some of those books, actually," he answered before popping the last bite of his toast into his mouth. Hermione smoothed a hand over her finished up-do and turned completely to face him.

"Just make sure you put them back in the correct order," she reminded as she stepped up to him. Draco swallowed and rolled his eyes.

"I promise not to break Rule Number Six. _Thou shalt not misarrange, mishandle, or in any way damage, misuse, or misplace the books or DVDs_ ," he drawled, leaning backwards against the kitchen island. "Your precious babies are safe with me, princess."

Hermione smacked him in the shoulder. "Stop calling me princess," she said. Draco grinned as he reached to his side to pick up his coffee.

"Sorry, princess…that request is not on the rule list," he winked at her as he took a sip. Hermione tilted her head at the challenge and then turned to stomp over to the refrigerator. She picked up a pen from the counter next to it and clicked it open.

"Oh, no you don't," Draco said as she raised her hand to the rule list that was held in a magnet on the refrigerator's door. Hermione stilled her hand and looked back at him.

"We agreed that we could add new rules as needed," she sniffed as her hand resumed its motion to begin writing. Draco slammed down his mug and bolted over to her.

"No," he said as he grabbed at her hand to try and take the pen. Hermione cackled as she blocked him with her back and hastily began to scribble. The cackle turned into outright laughter as Draco grabbed her around the middle and tugged her away from the appliance.

"No rules about me not calling you princess!" he hollered as he yanked the pen from her hand and jiggled her triumphantly. He held her to the side as he started to write on the list. Before Hermione could wriggle free of him, he'd finished his sentence.

" _Rule Number Twenty: Draco may call Hermione 'princess'_ …Draco!" she read it out loud and then swatted at him again. He laughed as he chucked the pen aside and strutted back over to the island.

"Come finish your breakfast, princess," he smirked, seating himself back down on a stool. He resumed his sips on his coffee as he reached for the recently delivered and still folded _Daily Prophet_ lying beside his empty breakfast plate.

"No, I'm pulling rank and deleting that," Hermione said, summoning the pen. Draco bolted up to stand to try and stop her again but sent his mug tumbling in the process. Coffee splashed over the newspaper, their plates and the island.

"Damn it!" he cursed as he dropped the _Prophet_ and shook the brown drops of liquid from his fingers. Hermione abandoned the pen and rule list and hurried over to him.

"Are you alright? It didn't burn you, did it?" she asked in concern. Draco shook his head.

"Nah, it only splashed a little on my hand. Ruined the paper though."

Hermione scrunched her nose. "It's a ragsheet anyway," she said sweeping the sopping paper and the soggied remains of her breakfast into a bin.

"Sorry about your toast," Draco said as helped Hermione clean up the mess.

"It's fine, Draco," she smiled after the coffee was cleared away. "I need to be off anyway. Walk me to the Floo?"

Draco pouted with a moan. "I want you to stay here again," he said, though he followed Hermione into her sitting room.

"I'll try to come back to have lunch with you," she offered, tiptoeing up to kiss him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and tugged her closer.

"Stay," he murmured against the side of her mouth as he kissed her back. She wiggled in his arms and pushed as his chest.

"You know I have to go to work," she chuckled as he nuzzled her all the harder.

"No," Draco insisted, "I'm sure the elves can take care of themselves for another day without you. Come on…skive off and stay. We can relax all day on the couch and watch movies in between talking and snogging like we did yesterday."

Hermione sighed as Draco buried his face into the side of her neck and trapped her waist within his arms.

"Draco," she said gently, "as much as I'd like to stay, I can't just keep skiving off; my work is important. I've got deadlines and meetings and-"

"I get it," Draco interrupted with a fake pout, releasing her and taking a step back. "Go to your _ever so important_ job. I'm sure I'll be fine here…by myself…alone…all day...by myself."

Hermione shook her head at him. "I think I've mentioned that I'm unswayed by whining and pouting."

Draco shrugged. "Worth a shot."

Hermione looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. "Why don't you come to work with me today? You can see what it is that I do. And maybe see if any departments are hiring."

Draco wrinkled his nose in distaste. "I don't want to work at the Ministry. Besides my father's there nearly every other day and I'd prefer to avoid a run-in."

"The Auror offices are on an entirely different level than mine," Hermione said as she summoned Draco's wizarding robes. "It's unlikely you'll see him in my office…unless you think he'll try and confront me…"

"No," Draco shook his head as he grabbed his robes out of the air when they floated past, "he wouldn't dare risk making any trouble there. His position's precarious enough as is. One wrong move and he'll lose his probation."

Hermione hummed. "Yes, Harry's mentioned that same sentiment. I'm afraid most of the Aurors don't like him much."

Draco snorted as he tugged on his robes over his Muggle clothes. "They're not the only ones."

Hermione frowned slightly as he then tugged rather harder than he needed to at his robe clasps, but said nothing and picked her bag up from where she'd set it on the nearby side table.

"Does Potter know about us, then?" Draco asked.

"Not everything," she admitted. "He knows that I'm teaching you about Muggle things, but…he doesn't know about…"

"Doesn't know that I've been snogging you senseless for the past day and a half?" he said, popping his eyebrows.

"Yes, that," Hermione said, blushing as she moved to her Floo. Draco grinned satisfactorily at her pink cheeks and took a handful of the Floo powder she offered out to him.

"Are you sure it's alright for me to go into work with you?" he asked, looking down at the substance cradled in his palm. Hermione set down the powder jar and adjusted her bag over her shoulder.

"My only superior is Kingsley," she replied with a nod, "…and he likes me."

Draco smirked. "So…no one will care if you have sex in your office?"

Hermione chocked on her own saliva. "Draco!" she said in a scolding tone. "We are not having sex in my office."

He leaned close to her with a leer. "Why not?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him and pursed her lips. "You know what, I change my mind. You stay here," she said, swiping her hand at his to try and take away the Floo powder. Draco laughed and pulled his hand away.

"Now that's just rude," he chided, stepping closer to her and wrapping his other arm back around her. "You don't want to be rude, do you, princess?" he said as he walked her backward into the Floo. Hermione tilted her face up to him.

"Fine, you may come," she said, a slight whimper at the tail end of the word as Draco pressed himself harder against her. "But no sex at work."

Draco nodded and Hermione yelled out the destination as they threw down their handfuls of powder.

"That's not on the list, though!" Draco shouted over the roar of passing grates as they moved through the Floo system. "There's no rule stating we can't have sex in your office!"

 _((sex in your office office office))_

The blood drained from Hermione's face as Draco's words echoed loudly around the Ministry Atrium when they stumbled out of the Floo together. She quickly straightened herself and brushed at her work robes.

"Sshh!" she hissed at him mortified as she glanced around at several people that were staring at them. Draco casually wiped at his own robes.

"What?" he asked innocently. "It's not like we have to keep anything a secret anymore. If I want to YELL about our sex life in public I - ouch!"

Hermione socked him in the side. "What is the matter with you?" she whispered through gritted teeth. Draco held his side and smirked.

"I'm telling Potter on you. You're abusing me," he said playfully.

Hermione frowned when two nearby women eyed them very obviously and then ducked their heads together in whispers. She grabbed Draco by his elbow and tugged at him to walk quickly to escape the looks they were still receiving.

"Merlin alive. We haven't even had sex yet and you've managed to make a spectacle of our-"

"Yet?" Draco grinned as Hermione hurried him through the Ministry halls to the lifts.

"Keep it up and there won't be a yet," she huffed.

"Keeping it up is somewhat essential for that particular act, Mia," Draco joked with a wicked smile. Hermione flushed deeply.

"Oh, my god, just…go," she shook her head as they came up to the lifts and one opened. Every occupant of the already crowded lift looked up and gawked at them. Hermione visibly hesitated at the sight of everyone staring at them, but Draco nudged her forward.

"In you go, princess," he said, stepping up with her to enter the lift. Hermione glared up at him, but subconsciously moved closer to his side when the others in the small space noticeably shrunk away from them and began whispering behind their hands to one another. Hermione turned her disapproving expression from Draco to them and narrowed her eyes.

"Can these lifts move any slower?" she grumbled uncomfortably. Draco glanced over her head at the shifty-eyed crowd.

"What?" he questioned them obnoxiously.

Several occupants averted their eyes while several others returned glares. The lift lurched to a stop and Hermione practically shoved Draco out when the gates opened. Everyone else stayed on.

"After six years, you'd think they'd have better things to do than gossip about us," Hermione said irritably as she stalked down the hall towards her department. "Ungrateful wankers."

"Why do you think I liked to stay at home?" Draco sighed as he followed beside her. Hermione exhaled deeply and they made the rest of their way through the mercifully empty halls in silence.

"Good morning, Norma," Hermione forced a cheerful smile at the old witch behind the reception desk when they arrived. Norma shifted her eyes up from the magazine in her hands. She blinked once at the couple and smacked at her gum.

"Mazel tov," she said in monotone before focusing back on her magazine. Hermione looked at her curiously for a moment and then pushed at Draco to head down the hall to her office door.

"In," she ordered after she unlocked it. Draco obeyed and ducked into the small room.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Harry nodded at the young wizard behind the reception desk as he entered the main Aurors' office.

"Mornin' Wendell," he greeted.

"Auror Potter," Wendell nodded back, setting a folded _Prophet_ and a fresh cup of tea on the desk counter. Harry picked up the paper and tucked it under his arm and then grabbed the cup of tea. He sipped it lightly as he made his way through the large room past the other Aurors' cubicles and desks to his own.

He set down the tea, newspaper and his briefcase before cracking his neck and plopping himself into his chair. He looked about his desk and frowned at the giant stack of unfinished paperwork teetering perilously close to the edge of it. He shrugged.

"It can wait," he said to himself, reaching for his newspaper. He settled back into his chair and shook out the paper before him as he brought his tea to his lips to take another sip and started to read. He spit his mouthful of tea all over the paper at the sight of the headline.

 _FORMER DEATH EATER AND MEMBER OF THE GOLDEN TRIO WED IN SECRET_

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Draco propped his feet up on Hermione's desk as he leaned back in her chair and flipped through one of her dossiers.

"You compile all of this information for every client?" he asked sounding impressed. Hermione nodded from her place standing before one of her file cabinets as she continued to finger through the records in the drawer she'd pulled open.

"Yes. The more information, the better the chance of securing a favorable outcome," she said. Draco glanced over at her.

"You sound like a solicitor," he teased. Hermione shrugged.

"I basically am," she said, pulling a file and turning to face him. "I don-"

She was cut-off by her office door banging open to reveal a shocked looking Harry. He immediately noticed Draco lounged behind her desk and made a strangled noise as he moved all the way into the office and let the door shut.

"So, it's true," he said breathlessly, looking from Draco to Hermione and then back to Draco.

"Morning, Potter," Draco drawled, setting aside the dossier and then folding his hands in his lap. "Long time no see."

Harry furrowed his brow slightly, but nodded. "Malfoy," he said shortly. He looked back at Hermione.

"Really, Hermione?" he said sounding somewhere between exasperated and sad. "It's official now?"

Hermione growled and rolled her eyes. "Good news travels fast," she groused, turning to glare at Draco. "You just _had_ to keep on with the sex in the office thing."

"Merlin, Hermione," Harry cried, running a nervous hand through his messy hair, "what has gotten into you?"

"We're NOT really going to have sex in the office, Harry," she assured with another glare at the blond smirking behind her desk.

"That's still up for discussion," Draco said, popping his hips at her suggestively causing Harry to shudder.

"Christ," he exclaimed, shaking his head. "I see what you meant about him being crass."

Draco arched an eyebrow and tilted his head at Hermione. "You told him I was crass?" he asked with an amused grin. Hermione rolled her eyes again and then focused on her wide-eyed friend.

"Do your parents know?" Harry suddenly demanded. He looked at Draco. "Do his?"

Draco's grin flattened into a grim line. "My parents made their extreme disapproval devastatingly clear when they cut me off, Potter," he said coldly. "Thank you for asking."

Harry looked genuinely taken aback as Hermione stepped up to Draco's side and placed a hand to his shoulder. Draco closed his eyes and reached up to place his hand over hers.

"My parents know too," Hermione said, meeting Harry's gaze with a serious look. Harry took a deep breath.

"And they approve?" he asked quietly. Hermione nodded.

"My mum encouraged it actually," she said softly. "She said I should leave the past in the past."

Draco opened his eyes at the admission and looked up at her tenderly as he brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles.

Harry gaped at the intimate display. "You two are really together," he said sounding awed. "Why didn't you tell me sooner, Hermione?"

She sighed at him. "I did, Harry…at lunch the other day."

"You told me you thought you kind of liked him, not that you were all….this," he said, waving a hand at them. Hermione simply shrugged while Draco narrowed his eyes.

"Do you have a problem with us being 'all this'?" he asked challengingly. Harry's mouth twisted as he stared at the two of them for a moment.

"Let me see your wand, Malfoy," he finally said. Draco scowled at him.

"Yeah, I don't think so, Potter," he sniffed. "I clearly don't swing that way."

Harry pulled his own wand and waved it before him. "Your wand, Malfoy," he demanded again, holding out his other hand for it.

Draco released Hermione's hand and lowered his feet to the floor. "Why?"

"As a duly appointed Auror of the Ministry it is my duty to ensure the safety of its citizens – particularly those that are my family. If I want to inspect your wand, I have that right and you are required by law to abide," Harry said authoritatively. "I want to see yours as well, Hermione."

"Harry," Hermione started to protest, but he shot her a quelling look. She frowned at him, but reached into her pocket and pulled out her wand. She held it out and Harry reached forward to take it. He looked at Draco expectantly.

Draco glared at him, but reluctantly bent down to retrieve his wand from his ankle. He sat up again and tossed the wand at Harry who caught it.

"Thank you," Harry said as he stepped back. Hermione and Draco watched him then perform a rapid series of detection spells on their wands.

"Find anything interesting?" Draco huffed. Harry gave a half shrug as he stepped forward and held their wands back out to them.

"You do a lot more cosmetic charms than I'd expect of a bloke, but other than that…" he said.

"So no dastardly Imperius used to entrap the heroine?" Draco sneered sarcastically as he snatched back his wand.

Hermione furrowed her brow at Harry as she took her wand back as well. "Was that really necessary, Harry?"

He gave her an apologetic look. "You're like my sister, Hermione. And given his track record…You know I had to check."

Draco made a rumbling noise in his throat and Hermione sighed.

"Yes, Harry. I know you had to check," she replied, "you wouldn't be such a terrific Auror if you didn't."

He opened his mouth to respond, but snapped it shut and whirled about at the sudden sound of a large commotion in the hall.

"What in the name of Merlin is it now?" Harry lamented as he cracked open the office door to peer out. "Oh, buggering hell."

"What is it?" Hermione asked, squaring her shoulders and tightening her grip on her wand. Draco stood and looked anxiously at the door.

"It seems news has spread," Harry said, closing and locking the door. He turned back to the other two. "There's about a dozen reporters out there. Norma transformed and is holding them off."

"Transformed?" Draco asked, looking down at Hermione next to him.

"She's three-quarter veela," she answered, still frowning at the door. "When she gets upset she gets nasty."

"That old hag is a veela?" Draco said doubtfully. "She's ugly as sin."

"Well, that is what happens to a veela when its chosen mate rejects them," Hermione said, stepping around her desk to approach Harry. "Try not to judge, dearest."

"You are so not calling me 'dearest'." Draco shook his head threateningly as he joined her side again.

Hermione frowned up at him. "Then don't call me 'princess'," she snapped.

"I hate to break-up this little lovers' quarrel of yours, but are you two prepared to deal with this shit just now?" Harry interrupted, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the hall.

"Absolutely not," both Draco and Hermione answered at the same time. They snickered in surprise at their unintentional synchronicity and Harry shook his head at them.

"You two are un-fucking-believable."

They all startled then when someone banged loudly on the office door and Harry flicked his wand casting a strong silencing spell over the room.

"Now listen," he said seriously, "if you two aren't ready to face the press then you need to leave now. In fact you should probably go away for a while until the hype dies down a bit. Did you already have something planned?"

Hermione furrowed her brow at him. "No. And I can't just leave my position."

Harry held his hands up at her to prevent her from going off as she began to ruffle. "I'll talk to Kingsley. You know he'll be sympathetic. Do you have somewhere to go? Do you still have your Aussie portkey?"

"Yes," Hermione admitted with a wary glance at the door handle as it jiggled furiously.

"Alright then," Harry nodded, holding out his arms. "Are your wards still open to me?"

"Always," Hermione answered, quickly summoning her bag and placing a hand to his right arm. Draco stood there looking confused and Harry shook his left arm at him.

"Grab on Malfoy…unless you'd prefer to stay here on your own?"

Draco looked nervously at the offered arm. "People can't Apparate in or out of the Ministry."

"They can if they're Aurors. Now come on," Harry said. Draco sucked in a breath and set his hand over Harry's arm and the three of them disappeared from the office only to land a second later in Hermione's sitting room.

"You both alright?" Harry asked as they all straightened their robes.

"I suppose," Hermione sighed. Harry rubbed her shoulder affectionately.

"Go ring your mum, see if you can stay with your folks for a week or two. I'll try and do some damage control here to settle things while you're gone."

Hermione nodded with an appreciative smile and Harry smiled back.

"You're sure about this insufferable arsehole?" he asked, tilting his head at Draco who crossed his arms.

"Hey," he snapped, but Hermione ignored him and nodded again.

"Yes, Harry. I'm sure," she said softly. Harry pulled her into a hug.

"I love you," he said into her ear. "No matter what."

"I love you too, Harry," she whispered back. Harry let her go and took a step back.

"If you two need anything, ANYTHING, you contact me. Got it?" he said. Hermione gave another rapid nod.

"And make sure you let us know if anything happens with Gin, okay?" she said.

"I will. Call me when you get settled and we'll talk this through properly. Now, I better get back," Harry said, adjusting his glasses on his nose. He gave Hermione one last smile before turning to Draco. He looked him over with a stern, appraising expression and then thrust out his hand. Draco blinked down at the gesture but reached out and shook Harry's hand.

"Congratulations," Harry said as he squeezed Draco's hand rather harder than was necessary. He leaned close to the one side of Draco's face to hide his own from Hermione as he added in a low whisper, "If you hurt her, Malfoy…I'll kill you," and then straightened up with a wide smile. He released Draco's hand and took a step back.

"Good luck!" he called out and then turned on his heel to leave with a crack. Both Hermione and Draco stood staring at the space where Harry had just been until Hermione cleared her throat.

"So, uh…" she said turning to look at Draco and rubbing anxiously at her upper arm, "want to meet my parents?"

Draco shrugged as he continued to stare straight ahead. "Well, you've already met mine…"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 **A/N: As always...THANK YOU for your continued enthusiasm for this fun little adventure. You all make this so much fun to write.**

 **And so now...our obliviously wedded pair have a full week to themselves just to do Muggle things...what will they get into? Hmm...**


	15. Consummation

**A/N: This is a MATURE chapter.**

 **The title means** **exactly** **what you think it does… Read at your own peril.**

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Do your parents know about me?" Draco asked as he stuffed the last of his belts into a duffel bag. Hermione looked over at him as she tucked Crookshanks lovingly into a basket.

"Of course. I told you about my conversation with my mum and-"

Draco shook his head. "No, I know they know about me, but...do they REALLY know. Know what I was...what I did? Do they know about the war?"

Hermione secured the lid to the basket and set it carefully next to the one that was shaking with the movements of an angry Odin within it.

"They know about the war," she answered softly, sitting back on her heels. "They know that I fought in it and that we won. And they know about the Death Eaters. But they do not know that you were one of them….nor of your actions as one."

Draco nodded silently and resumed his packing.

"They don't know about my torture either," Hermione added quietly. Draco glanced back up at the statement to see her shift to sit on her butt and run her fingers over the scars on her left arm. She looked up to meet his gaze. "And I'd prefer to keep it that way. I glamour the scars when I'm with my parents."

Hermione gave Draco a significant look that was clearly meant to signal that he should not under any circumstance mention their past to her parents and he nodded in understanding.

"Should I cover this too, then?" he asked, holding up his left arm and motioning to his Dark Mark.

Hermione shook her head. "I never told them about the Marks. They'll think it's a tattoo."

"And they won't mind that I've got a skull and snake tattoo?" he asked warily.

"I doubt it," she said, allowing herself to smile. "My dad has got one of a naked lady on _his_ arm."

Draco choked on his saliva. "What?" he laughed.

"It's true," Hermione bit her lip as she grinned. "He got it when he was in the army. Mum detests it. She once even tried to bribe me into using magic to remove it."

"But you didn't?" Draco inquired with a grin of his own.

Hermione shrugged. "Dad proved more persuasive in the end." She gave Draco a cautionary look as she added, "You'll want to be careful around him. He has this way of always getting what he wants. He'll ask you if you like the outdoors and then, the next thing you know, you're mowing the lawn and cleaning the gutters."

"Sounds like a Slytherin," Draco said, setting aside the bag and crawling the short distance to where she was sitting. He braced himself with his arms behind him as he settled himself next to her on 'his' bedroom floor. Hermione reached over and brushed at his hair on his forehead.

"If he'd been a wizard I'm sure he would've been," she sighed. "They do say a girl marries her father."

Draco arched an eyebrow. "And how like your father am I?"

Hermione flushed and pulled her hand to her mouth. "Oh, my gosh, I…I don't know why I just said that," she admitted embarrassedly. "I'm sorry…that was inappropriate."

"Was it?" he asked, tilting his head.

"We've only been officially a couple for a few days, Draco," Hermione answered quietly. "You don't think it's a bit early to start discussing marriage?"

Draco sat up a little straighter and looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. "We're already living together, and we've known each other for thirteen years." He paused and looked down at his bare ring finger. "We'll need to discuss it eventually."

Hermione pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them as she stared back at him. "Why did you seek me out to teach you about Muggle things?" she asked very seriously after a moment.

"You're changing the subject," Draco frowned a little. Hermione shook her head.

"In order to discuss where we're headed, I want to know exactly how it is that we got _here_ ," she replied, pointing a finger to the floor for effect.

Draco looked away from her and began picking at the carpeting. His face contorted into several different expressions as he appeared to be thinking over what he wanted to say. He mumbled something as he plucked at the fibers and Hermione leaned closer to him.

"What?" she asked as Draco continued to stir uncomfortably. He inhaled deeply.

"Astoria…" he said and then trailed off shaking his head. Hermione sat silently beside him for another minute until he spoke again. "After the party," he started, "Astoria insisted that we meet to talk about what happened, so I went to her house. When I showed up she…" He chuckled mirthlessly at the recollection and finally looked up at Hermione. "She was wearing nothing but her knickers. She tried to seduce me into taking her back."

Hermione pursed her lips and nodded to indicate that she was still listening and Draco went on.

"I refused her of course," he said, returning his attention again to the carpet, "and that's when she got nasty. She called me every name in the book; told me I was lucky someone like her loved my 'boring, ignorant, obnoxious arse'…that I should be on my knees thanking Merlin that she'd even considered being with me. She said I should…that I might as well start learning to live like a Muggle, because there wasn't any other witch alive that would deign to acknowledge my existence."

He swallowed hard and slowly lifted his eyes to Hermione's. "I told her about you showing me how to use the trampoline then….told her that you'd been civil to me…"

Draco stopped again and closed his eyes and braced himself. "That's when she said…she said that _the_ Hermione Granger -famous, golden Hermione Granger –would never give me the time of day…that I wouldn't even be able to pay her to spend time with me."

A full minute of silence followed his confession before he slowly blinked his eyes open to see Hermione.

She was still sitting, hugging her legs, but her face was expressionless, blank. Her chest rose with short, controlled breaths as she stared straight ahead. Another minute of thick silence passed until Draco reached out towards her.

"Hermione?"

She flinched away from his touch and said nothing as she calmly rose to her feet and stepped over to the baskets. Without a word, she bent over and opened them. Draco made a face like he'd been punched in the gut as both cats jumped out of their carriers and took off and Hermione walked purposefully into the bathroom without a look back.

"Hermione," he said desperately, pushing up from the floor to follow her, "Hermione wait."

Hermione kept walking and entered her bedroom through the adjoining door in the bathroom. Draco attempted to follow her, but the moment his foot went to pass the threshold he was thrown backward into the bathroom wall.

"Fuck!" he cried out at the jolting pain from the ward that was still pulsing through his limbs. He straightened himself and rubbed at his arms as he peered into Hermione's bedroom to see her writing furiously at something on a desk.

"Hermione, please," he tried, "talk to me."

Hermione simply stalked back to the doorway and glared as she threw a waded piece of parchment at him. It bounced off his chest and Draco scooped it up from the floor and uncrumpled it. He was still reading the voucher made out to him for one-million-three-thousand galleons when he was pelted in the head with a small, yet hard object that fell and clinked loudly on the tiled floor.

"Gah!" he grunted as he rubbed at his head and looked down to see his ring spinning at his feet. He snapped his gaze back up to Hermione in her room to see her roughly dumping out her packed bag on her bed.

"Hermione!" Draco said more sternly, tossing the voucher aside to shield himself with his hands as she picked up two fistfuls of the designer clothing he'd bought her and hurled it into the bathroom. She still said nothing and merely stomped back over to the bed to grab more clothes and chuck them through the door.

"Hermione, stop!" Draco shouted as he ducked the flying jeans and blouses. "Would you fucking stop and listen to me!?"

She paused to glare at him harder. "My arse looks incredible, huh? Oh, I'm _so_ much fun? I'm _beautiful?_ " she sneered in a voice so cold Draco shivered. She turned away and muttered something that sounded like 'fucking con-artist.'

"Her-"

"I knew better," she said to herself, starting to cry as she looked down at her bed. "I knew you couldn't possibly…" She placed a hand to her mouth and the other to her stomach and broke down with a gut-wrenching sob. She doubled over and simply cried.

Draco watched helplessly from the bathroom. "Hermione..."

"Your parents didn't even really disown you, did they?" she choked through her tears.

"No, they definitely did that," Draco said surely, coming as close as he dared to the doorway. He watched her for a moment and then very quietly said, "I meant it when I said you were fun and beau-"

"Don't," Hermione interrupted. "Don't even keep lying. You've already proven your point…go back to Astoria and gloat."

Draco scowled. "That is not what-"

"Not what!?" Hermione suddenly demanded angrily. She took hold of a bundle of belt straps and made for the door. "I'm not just a means to boost your vainglorious ego?" she spat as she threw the belts at him. Her hand crossed the door's threshold as she did so and Draco saw the split second opportunity and grabbed her wrist. He yanked her forcefully into the bathroom and pinned her to the wall by her upper arms.

"Let go of me!" she screamed.

"Please, just listen to me," he begged, never letting up on his grip.

"Why should I trust anything you have to say?" she challenged with a livid expression. "Why should I believe a word that comes out of your-"

"Because I'm bloody well in love with you!" Draco blurted out. Hermione stilled and snapped her open mouth shut. She looked at him in shock for a moment and then shook her head.

"How can you stand being this cruel?" she asked, fresh tears welling up and spilling down her cheeks. "The taunts and the names and the torture weren't enough? You had to come back and pretend to-"

"I'm not fucking pretending!" Draco yelled resolutely, shaking her slightly. Hermione started to cry harder and he squeezed her arms in his hands.

"Yes…it started as a challenge to prove something to myself," he admitted, his own tears starting in his eyes, "but the more I saw you… the more I got to know you…"

Draco suddenly looked angry and shook her harder. "You are so fucking beautiful, Hermione! And brilliant….so goddamned smart and, Merlin! How can you not see what you are? You are gorgeous and thoughtful and-"

He slammed his lips to hers. He swallowed the broken sob that escaped her and released her arms to tuck his hands into her hair and tug desperately at her head. Hermione fisted her hands into his t-shirt against his chest and pulled at him. She rose up on her toes to better match his height and moved her hands into his hair and dug her nails into his scalp as they intensified their snogging to a frenzied level.

Draco moaned at the sensation and pressed her up against the wall as he slid his hands from her head down the curved lines of her body to rest at her hips. He began to slip a hand beneath her shirt, when Hermione suddenly pulled back and grabbed his wrist.

"We...we can't do this," she panted through swollen lips. "You...you don't...you won't want to do this."

Draco tried to steady his breathing as he stared at her in confusion. "I've never wanted anything more in my life," he said, keeping his hands firmly pressed to her hips. Hermione made a skittish noise and Draco leaned his forehead to hers.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you from the start, but I thought…" He shook his head against hers. "I'm not sorry I did it," he went on, "I'm not sorry I'm here. I want this...I do."

"You won't," she said sadly, "You'll be just like Ron and -"

"I'm not leaving," Draco said sternly. "Weasley's a fucking moron. I'm not going anywhere."

Hermione went to protest again but Draco didn't give her a chance as he recaptured her mouth with his own. The kiss was slow and determined and Hermione loosened her grip on his wrist to allow him to slip his right hand under the hem of her shirt. The moment his hand touched her skin he broke the kiss and stopped moving.

He blinked at her with an expression that flitted between shock and sadness. "Mia?"

Hermione closed her eyes and turned her face away as new, fat tears leaked from her lids. Draco looked down to where his hand had disappeared against her and lifted her shirt with his other hand to reveal her bare abdomen.

"Fuck," he whispered as he stared at the scarred flesh that greeted him. Hermione let out a soft sob and Draco looked back up to her face. Without a word he started to tug her shirt up to remove it. Hermione startled at the action and turned a fearful, uncertain face to him.

Draco simply tugged again at the shirt and, after a moment, Hermione hesitantly raised her arms to allow him to pull it over her head and cast it aside. She immediately tried to cover her midsection with her hands, but Draco gently grabbed them in his own and held them to her sides.

"You're beautiful," he said in a faraway voice as he let his eyes roam over her torso. He released her hands and crouched down before her. He ran his hands over the raised, pink and red network of scars that spider-webbed across her abdomen and she flinched. He glanced up to see that she had closed her eyes again and was silently crying as he touched her.

"Do they still hurt?"

Hermione shook her head.

"Aunt Bella?" Draco asked, brow creasing slightly. Hermione tensed at the mention of the name, but nodded. Draco inhaled deeply. "She always did like lacing her _Crucios_ with scarring hexes," he recollected bitterly.

Hermione's bottom lip trembled and Draco smoothed his long fingers over the darkest lines. "Is this what Weasley didn't like?" he asked softly.

Hermione nodded and then gasped loudly and shot her eyes open when Draco then leaned forward and kissed her stomach. She looked down as he wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her closer.

"Draco…" she whispered brokenly, setting her hands to the top of his head, slipping her fingers into his hair as he layered tender kisses around her navel.

"-ve wanted you," Draco mumbled quietly against her skin as he slowly raised himself up to kiss up her abs. He ran his hands flat over her back as he went higher. "Want you," he mumbled again and Hermione whimpered.

Draco continued his ministrations up her torso in silence until he reached the bottom of her bra. He hooked his fingers into the clasp and, when Hermione made no move to stop him, undid it. He lowered his hands and stood up straight to look her directly in the eyes as she let the undergarment fall free down her arms to the floor.

Never taking his eyes from hers, Draco took hold of the bottom of his t-shirt and pulled it up and off in one fluid motion. He flung it aside and then stepped closer to her. Their bare chests pressed together as she raised her arms to hang around his neck and he slipped one hand flat against the small of her back and brought the other up to thumb away the tears on her cheeks.

Draco swallowed hard as Hermione's gaze bore into his. "You were right you know," he said. Hermione raised one eyebrow slightly in question and he smiled sadly as he went on. "When you said I was still a coward. I am."

Hermione blinked at him as he let his eyes fall to her lips.

"I was too scared to believe her. Too afraid to approach you like a man. Too much of a coward to tell you the truth when you asked…" his eyes slid back up to lock onto hers. "Too terrified that I'd lose the only good thing that's ever-"

His confession was muted as Hermione flung herself forward to kiss him. The force of it made him take a step back, but he quickly recovered their balance and returned the kiss with an urgency that resulted in them stumbling toward the guestroom, their hands groping and clutching each other as they went. When the back of Hermione's legs hit the bedframe, Draco broke their lip lock and fell to his knees before her.

Hermione's breath hitched as he swiftly undid her jeans and then roughly tugged them and knickers down her legs in one go. Draco smoothed his hands up the length of her legs from ankles to hips and then peered up at her though lust-blown pupils.

"Draco," Hermione rasped down at him. The corner of his mouth twitched upward into a wicked smirk, but he said nothing and pushed her carefully but firmly to sit on the bed behind her. He reached down to pull her jeans -that where pooled at her feet- off and tossed them over his shoulder before slowly rising to stand. He took a step backwards and Hermione trembled slightly as he raked his eyes greedily over her and undid his belt.

"Any rules you'd like to add before I put Weasley and that Bryce fucker to shame, princess?" he asked in a low voice, pushing his jeans and boxers down over his hips to let them fall to the floor.

A heated blush spread over Hermione's skin as her eyes involuntarily darted below his waist, but she merely shook her head.

"I never slept with Bryce," she answered, looking back up at his face. "Hence the 'I was no fun' commentary."

Draco sniffed in apparent disapproval of Bryce's assertion and stepped out of his piled jeans.

"It simply would've been too difficult to explain…" Hermione went on, flattening her hands over her stomach. Her face went sad again as she bowed her head and Draco crouched down before her once more and raised her face with a hand to her chin.

She slowly met his gaze and Draco's eyes searched deep into hers. Neither said a word and they simply stared until Draco leaned in and set his lips softly to hers. Hermione made a small moan and let her hands unclench from her scarred middle to slip around Draco's back. Her fingers splayed out across the smooth expanse of his skin as he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her up slightly as he stood to move them both further up the mattress.

Their bodies pressed together as Hermione laid back and Draco followed her down to lay over her. Her hands moved from his back to wind into his hair when he finally released her mouth after a minute of deep snogging to trail kisses down her jaw and neck.

Hermione closed her eyes, her fingers rubbing at the silky strands of his hair as he moved his way downward. She sucked in a breath when his lips sealed around her left nipple. Draco smiled against her but continued his ministrations for some minutes before kissing across her chest to pay the same attention to the other side.

"What do you want me to do?" he whispered against her skin, his left hand trailing down past her navel. Hermione laughed. Draco raised up on his arm to look down at her in bemusement and she smirked at him.

"King of the innuendo, Draco Malfoy, doesn't know what to do?" she sassed playfully. "So much for putting Ron to- aah!"

She gasped loudly and arched as Draco swiftly dipped his hand down between her legs and inserted a finger. He gave a dark chuckle.

"You were saying, witch?" he inquired lazily as he pumped the one finger several times and then added another.

"Oh, fuck," she wheezed, her eyes rolling back as he worked her.

"That is the idea, yes," Draco grinned and then withdrew his hand. Hermione whimpered slightly at the loss of contact until she looked down to see him rubbing his glistening fingers together with an appreciative smile. "And I'd say you're more than ready."

Hermione gulped and Draco hesitated when he caught the small motion of her throat.

"Unless…you'd rather not?" he asked seriously. Hermione took a steadying breath and reached up to pull him back down.

"It's just been a while," she confessed nervously. Draco shifted himself between her legs and lowered his face to hers to kiss her again.

"I'm not going anywhere if you'd prefer to wait," he offered. Hermione smiled at him and shook her head. She snaked a hand down between them and stroked him. Draco hissed at the touch and reached down to gently remove her hand. He repositioned his body then and aligned himself with her.

Hermione bit her lip in anticipation as she felt Draco ready himself and, after a final permission-seeking glance from him to which she nodded, he pushed forward.

The moment he breached her they felt the quick zap. They both gasped as Draco fully seated himself within her and stilled.

"Why does that keep happening?" Hermione winced, glancing down to where they were joined. Draco shrugged as he held himself over her.

"Are you alright?"

Hermione nodded. "Yeah…just tingled."

Draco nodded back in response and then looked down between them as he slowly pulled out and eased back in.

"Holy fuck," he breathed, gripping the sheets. He repeated the motion and Hermione arched her back with a throaty moan. She clutched at his shoulders and held tight as he began a solid rhythm.

A steady stream of whispered praises and appreciations slipped past Draco's lips as he moved and Hermione swooned slightly before raising her hips to meet his in time with each of his purposeful thrusts. Draco groaned at the movement and picked up his pace. Hermione didn't miss a beat as she wrapped her legs around his back to allow him deeper access.

"Incredible," Draco breathed, "so fucking…grahh!" He growled desirously and buried his face into the side of her neck and clamped his teeth over her pulse point.

"Draco!" Hermione cried out, her hands flying to his head and yanking at his hair. Draco released his jaw and chuckled as he pulled up. Hermione let her hands and legs fall to the sides as he raised himself up on his arms and smiled down at her.

"Is our trip… to Australia… back on, then?" he asked through labored breaths, never ceasing his hips. Hermione let out an amused sniff as she looked pointedly down to their lower halves.

"I should hope so," she replied. Draco's mouth pulled up into a pronounced smirk.

"Then… you'll want to glamour that up," he said, tilting his chin to the mark he'd just left on her neck. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him and brought her hands back up around his shoulders and dug her nails in deep. He hissed at the pain but never lost his smirk as she pulled him lower over herself and wrapped her legs back around him.

"Prat," she sneered at him playfully. Draco nodded.

"But I'm your prat now," he said, burying his face back into her hair as he continued. Hermione gave a contented moan as Draco inhaled her scent and added in a husky whisper, "…for as long as you'll have me."


	16. Familial Legacy Enchantment

"Are you ready?" Hermione called out as she adjusted her bag over her shoulder.

"Just about," Draco answered as he came out of the bathroom, slinging his own packed bag over his torso. "I had to make sure I packed my toothbrush. I wouldn't want to offend the dentists," he smirked.

Hermione shook her head and stepped up to him. "I'm sure you'll still find a way to manage that," she teased, tilting her chin up at him as he shifted his bag to wrap his arms around her.

"On account of I'm oh so crass?" he asked, bringing his face down close to hers. Hermione bit her lip and nodded.

"Mmm hmm," she hummed in the affirmative. Draco squeezed her.

"I didn't hear any complaints from you an hour ago about my level of… _crassness_ ," he said, popping his eyebrows suggestively.

Hermione playfully clucked her tongue. "Yes, well, I –ooh!" she yelped when Draco moved a hand down and pinched her bum.

"We've got time, princess," he leered, "what do you say to a third round?"

She laughed and pushed at his chest. "Unless you'd like to explain to my father why we smell like sex, I think you'll want to hold off."

"Freshening charms," Draco suggested as he attempted to bury his face into her neck. Hermione shoved at him and he released her with a pronounced pout. She laughed again as she straightened her clothes and then bent over to pick up Crookshanks' carrier basket.

"Get Odin," she simply ordered, hefting the precious cargo in her arms. Draco's expression turned from one of playful sulking to one of exaggerated annoyance as he turned his attention down to the rattling basket at their feet.

"Really? You've left the crazy one for _me_ to carry?"

"It's a short trip," Hermione replied with a smile. "And he likes you."

He gave her put-upon face, but picked up the basket when she cocked a stern eyebrow at him.

"Denied and ordered about," he grumbled jokingly, "you're no fun."

"Watch it," Hermione said, narrowing her eyes at him though she smiled.

"Yes, ma'am," he said, nodding petulantly while failing to hide his own grin. Hermione rolled her eyes and turned to exit the room. Draco followed, turning the light switch off with his elbow as he passed it.

"The portkey's in the sitting room," Hermione mentioned over her shoulder as they both tromped down the stairs. "Once activated, it has a thirty-second delay….so we'll want to make sure we're…"

She stopped abruptly at the bottom of the stairs. Draco barely avoided colliding with her and clutched at the cat basket that nearly fell.

"What's the matter?" he asked, pushing past her to see what she was gaping at when she didn't move. "Shite," he cursed at the sight of a bunch of owls perched and clicking and fluttering at each other outside of the front window. He took a step to peer into the kitchen and cursed again when he saw another dozen owls vying for position at its windows.

"So much for Potter handling things for us," Draco grouched, setting down Odin's carrier and walking into the living room. "Fucking hell."

Hermione set Crookshanks down as well and let her bag slip from her shoulder to the floor before following him. She groaned loudly as she joined his side to look at the multitude of impatient looking owls outside her panes.

"At least I set that spell to keep the neighbors wholly uninterested in anything that has to do with the house," she said as she stepped over to one of the windows. Several owls pecked angrily at the glass and Hermione shrunk back. "Damn it. Some of them are carrying Howlers."

Draco walked to the other window. "This seems excessive for one sex comment in the Ministry," he said with a frown. Hermione snorted.

"Do you not remember how much hate mail I got fourth year when it came out that I was seeing Viktor? I was only fourteen and grown women sent me cursed materials," she said, shaking her head at the recollection. "I don't even want to imagine what all of this might contain."

"We should call Potter," Draco said as an owl slammed its head so hard against the window the glass cracked. He looked over at Hermione with wide eyes. "And probably sooner rather than later."

Hermione cringed at the birds. "We should just leave."

Draco gave her a look like she'd gone mad. "And have them show-up at your parents' house in two days?"

"You're right," Hermione lamented as yet another bird swooped down to crash into the pile of waiting owls. "I'll Floo him quick."

She jogged out of the room and Draco took the bag off from around his body and walked back into the hall. He heard Hermione talking from the sitting room and set the bag next to Odin before turning to join her there.

The flames of the Floo extinguished as soon as he entered.

"Did you talk to him?" he asked as Hermione sat back on her heels in front of the fireplace.

"Yeah," she nodded, as she stood, "he'll be right here. He's bringing another Auror along to help as well."

A second later Harry and another man swirled into being with a crack.

"Hermione," Harry said, stepping up to her at once in a tone of concern, "are you okay?"

She hugged him and nodded. "Yes, it's just…" She pulled back and motioned to one of the windows.

"I know," he said scratching his head, "I'm sorry. It took loads longer to wrangle those bloody reporters than I anticipated and I wasn't able to put a scrambling tracker spell on you two yet. You shouldn't receive any more after this though. All of your mail will divert to the Ministry where I can check it before sending it to you."

Hermione nodded in understanding and then raised an eyebrow at the other Auror that was silently glaring at Draco. "Is there a problem, Auror…?"

Harry turned and frowned. "Cooper," he answered for the man. Cooper ignored Hermione and shifted his gaze to Harry.

"What are your orders, sir?" he simply asked shortly.

"Scan the lot for curses and then retrieve and contain the Howlers," Harry commanded and Cooper immediately walked off to a window. Draco and Hermione both scowled after him.

"He's pleasant, Potter," Draco snipped, "so good of you to bring him along."

"He's good at this sort of thing," Harry said with his own disgruntled frown at the man that was already magically marking the most hazardous of the delivered letters through the glass. "He's a right prick, but he knows his way around a wand."

"How delightful that we got to meet him," Draco sneered. Hermione nudged him in the side with an admonishing look and he rolled his eyes.

"You know," Harry said, turning to Draco, "this all could've been avoided."

Draco narrowed his eyes at him. "Oh…so this is _my_ fault? People don't know how to mind their own damn business, but it's my fault. Fuck you, Potter."

"Draco," Hermione reproached, smacking him in the arm. Harry glared right back at the blond, ignoring Hermione's attempt at intervening.

"Yeah, I think it is your fault," he replied, raising his brows. "Yours too, Hermione. I love you, but it was really pretty foolish to off and get married without telling anyone first. If you'd have told me even a few days ago, I could've had this all taken care of for you."

Hermione and Draco blinked at him.

"What?" Hermione whispered. Harry furrowed his brow at them as they both stood before him looking like they'd been slapped.

"You should've told me you wanted to get married earlier," he repeated. When they continued to gape at him, Harry tilted his head at them with a troubled look.

"Sir!" Cooper called out. Harry reluctantly took his eyes off of Hermione and Draco to look at the Auror.

"What is it?"

Cooper waved a hand indicating that Harry should join him at the sill and, with a last glance back at the two, jaunted over to him.

"Married?" Hermione said, her brow knitting in thought. She looked up at Draco beside her to see him looking even paler than usual and staring at Harry who was speaking in undertones to Cooper and she gasped.

She suddenly darted away from his side and into the kitchen. Draco slowly turned to peer after her, but said nothing as he swayed slightly on his feet. He heard the rustling of a trash bag and then a muffled 'Oh, my god.'

Hermione emerged from the kitchen doorway a moment later holding the wilty, coffee-stained _Prophet_ they'd binned. Her eyes rapidly scanned the front page as she stood in the hallway and, when she'd gotten to the end of the article, she looked up from the paper to Draco with shock etched into every line of her face.

"We're married," she said. She looked back down at the paper and gulped. "We're married."

The statement jolted Draco back to attention. He shook his head slightly and then stalked over to her. He snatched the paper from her when she held it out to him and at the sight of the headline he slumped against the wall.

"We're married," he said in the same tone of disbelief Hermione had just used. He glanced up at her. "How…I don't…" he stammered and then looked back down at the article. "Familial Legacy Enchantment… what the hell is that? We didn't do any…"

Draco trailed off and suddenly looked livid. "This is horseshite!"

Hermione startled slightly at the exclamation and watched him stomp back down the hall, waving the soiled newspaper angrily.

"Oi, Potter!" he shouted, "How about you stop fucking around with the mail and do some real Auror work, like say, I don't know…finding the pathetic arsehole responsible for this libelous rubbish!"

He brandished the paper at Harry who'd turned. Harry frowned down at the paper and then up at Draco.

"It's only libel if it's not true," he said with an annoyed scowl. Draco looked about to spit fire.

"But it's NOT true!"

A Howler suddenly exploded outside one of the windows shattering it and Harry was forced to assist Cooper in rapidly casting spell after spell to hold-off the owls and flying letters.

"Potter!" Draco tried again, but Harry shot him a scathing glare.

"If you're not going to bloody help, Malfoy, kindly sod off and let us work!"

Draco opened his mouth to retort, but stopped when he caught the flash of Hermione sprinting up the stairs out his peripheral vision. He watched Harry and Cooper finally repair the window only to have another one shatter. The two Aurors scrambled over to it and Draco rolled his eyes and turned to trudge up the stairs after Hermione.

He found her in the reading lounge knelt down and bent over her trunk of magical texts with her wand in hand.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking up marital spells and enchantments," she answered without looking up. She sat back and held her wand aloft to levitate a small stack of leather-bound books from the trunk.

"You don't actually believe that we're married, do you?" Draco frowned as Hermione shut the trunk and grabbed the first book from the pile. She glanced up at him.

"Yes," she said, her voice cracking slightly. She returned her attention to the book and opened it. Draco simply stood there and watched as she paged through it with a determined yet concerned scowl. "The bane of my life is that most wizarding texts lack indices," she grumbled as she set the book aside and took up the next.

Draco shook his head at her. "Just what are you expecting to find? Some arsehole probably just saw us when we were out and decided he'd make a quick galleon by selling the _Prophet_ a juicy-"

"The jolts," Hermione interrupted, still flipping pages, "the jolts we felt after you gave me your…"

She trailed off as her hand stilled on a page and her face twisted at what she was reading. She closed her eyes and took a giant breath.

"What?" Draco asked anxiously. Hermione cracked her eyes back open and peered down at the book. She placed a hand gently to her mouth and shook her head.

"What?" Draco repeated louder, his chest rising with increasing breaths.

 _"Familial Legacy Enchantment,"_ she read aloud. She paused as Draco approached and slowly sank down to sit next to her. She tilted the book so he could follow along as she continued.

" _A familial legacy enchantment, while not in common use in modern times, is still utilized by some of the oldest and most established of wizarding clans and families as a means to ensure the continuation of the ancestral name._

 _The enchantment is seldom applied under normal circumstances, as traditional means of betrothal and vow are usually preferred, but is more often a contingency method for when the death or imprisonment of an heir appears imminent and a spouse to carry on the name must be recognized in a short span of time._

 _By design then, to provide expediency, the enchantment is triggered by the simple act of gifting an object, usually a ring or other family heirloom upon which the enchantment has been embedded, from the heir to the chosen spouse and the spouse accepting. The marriage bond itself is then sealed with merely a kiss. Consummation is not required to make the marriage official, as the circumstances most often associated with the use of this enchantment rarely allow for such._

 _The exact terms of any legacy enchantment can, of course, be modified by the family, though most grant the new spouse immediate access and rights to any and all of the family assets and the same considerations as those of a blood relative. The distinction allows for the legitimacy of any offspring produced by the spouse, even if the child is sired outside of the family, allowing for continuation of the name in the event of an only heir's death._

 _As a safeguard, marriage established via a familial legacy enchantment may be dissolved at any time, without legal intervention, so long as all parties involved agree to the annulment and consummation has not occurred. If consummation is achieved, however, standard legal divorce proceedings are required for separation."_

When she finished, Hermione gulped and turned to look at Draco who was still reading with a scowl. There was another bang from downstairs followed by a slew of expletives from Harry, and Hermione looked over her shoulder in the direction of the stairs, but Draco was still glaring at the book in her lap. He picked it up and Hermione looked back at him to see him shaking his head.

"I don't understand," he said, flipping the pages harshly as if they'd offer up further explanation, "my parents never told me about any legacy enchantment. Why wouldn't they have told me!?"

Hermione carefully pried the book from his hands and set it behind her. "Neither of your parents ever mentioned a spell on your ring?" she asked.

Draco shook his head again. "No. My father simply told me never to remove it lest I jeopardize the family name. Well, I'd already done that, hadn't I!? So why the bloody hell would I have kept it on!?"

"Draco, calm down," Hermione said, when he shot up to his feet.

"Calm down!?" he shouted as he began to pace. "We're fucking married, Hermione!"

He bent down and snatched up the _Prophet_ he'd set on the floor. "And how in Salazar's name did someone find out when _we_ didn't even know!?" he demanded, shaking the paper violently.

Hermione's mouth twisted in thought as she glanced back at the book. "It said the spouse was immediately granted access to the family assets," she said, her eyes widening slightly as she snapped her face back up to look at Draco. "The goblin…he kept asking me which vault. Draco, I think I was already listed as having access to the Malfoy vaults. If notice of our marriage was magically provided to Gringotts, it probably went to the Ministry as well."

"I was disinherited, Hermione," Draco said, looking wild, "as in _no longer legally a Malfoy_ …you wouldn't get access even if you married me. And marriage records are magically sealed unless…"

"Unless an immediate family member requests them," Hermione finished, pushing up to stand. Draco stopped in his tracks and blinked at her.

"But that would mean…" His eyes widened almost comically. "No…no, I saw him do it. I saw him, Hermione. I SAW him burn me off."

"You saw him put a black mark on an old tapestry, Draco," Hermione said quietly. "Did he _actually_ say you were disowned?"

Draco's breathing started to become erratic as he braced himself on one of the bookshelves and bowed his head, his hand fisting around the newspaper to crumple it.

Hermione stepped up to him and placed a hand to his shoulder. "Draco," she said gently, "it's alright."

He shook his head again, his face contorting with hurt. "I'm not going back to him. Manipulative bastard," he snarled.

"He loves you," Hermione said, looking torn. Draco snorted.

"You know what...I'm glad his fucking ring married us. I cannot wait to see the look on his face when you divorce me and half of his _precious_ possessions are given to you."

Hermione dropped her hand from his shoulder. "You...you want to get divorced?" she nearly whispered.

Draco's expression immediately softened as he looked up at her. "I... _you_ don't?" he asked hesitantly.

Hermione slumped a little and gave a self-conscious shrug. "I don't know. I admit this is not at all how I'd have chosen to first be married, but...of all the accidental enchantments that could've happened… unintentionally marrying someone you're already in a relationship with is not all that horrible."

Draco gawked at her for a moment and then let a nervous smile tug at his lips. "You…you want to stay married to ME? Just a bit ago you thought merely discussing marriage was too-"

"I know," she interrupted, "I know, but...I mean it's just a legality really, right? It's not a permanent bond; we could divorce anytime if we decided it wasn't working. I think...maybe for now we should just...see how our relationship progresses; discuss it as we go."

Draco's face lit-up with a smile but before he could reply there was the sound of yet another window breaking followed by the sounds of fluttering wings and angry cursing.

"So much for that dick being good at this sort of thing," Draco said, his smile pursing to a frown as he looked over his shoulder at the stairs.

"Why do people feel the need to inform complete strangers of their opinions on their personal lives?" Hermione huffed. "Two people ought to be able to get married without fear of their mail exploding and cursing their skin off."

Draco grunted in agreement just as Harry came rushing up the stairs holding their packed bags.

"Harry! What's going on down th-" Hermione started.

He cut her off. "You two need to leave," he said, all but throwing their bags at them. He then grabbed Hermione's hand and plopped a small snow globe of the Sydney Opera House in it as he added, "NOW."

Hermione shook her head. "Harry, what's-"

The crack of several more Aurors entering the first floor echoed through the house and Hermione tried to see past Harry down the stairs. He grabbed her by the shoulders and made her look him in the face.

"I had to call in some back-up. An anti-Death Eater extremist sent you…" he shook his head, "…it doesn't matter. We'll take care of it, just…go. It's not safe. I'll send the cats to Mrs. Figg for her to watch."

Hermione opened her mouth to try and question him again, but Harry reached over and grabbed hold of a now sour looking Draco's wrist and, before Draco could resist him, put his hand over the snow globe in Hermione's.

"I already activated that," Harry said, stepping back. "Enjoy your honeymoon. I'll see you in a week or so."

Hermione's eyes widened. "But…

Harry smiled at her as another explosion sounded from the floor below. "Don't worry. I'll take care of-"

But the snow globe portkey had already whisked the newlyweds away.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"May I help who's next!?"

Lucius Malfoy tugged his cloak hood a little tighter about his head as the man in the queue ahead of him turned to leave and passed him. He shifted his eyes about for a moment and, when the Ministry worker behind the counter repeated 'Next!', stepped forward.

"Good afternoon, sir," the employee started in a bored drone, "what is the nature of your…oh…it's you is it?"

The man's lips curled back in a smug, triumphant grin and Lucius glared from the depths of his hood.

"So you do remember me," Lucius said in a cold voice. "I thought perhaps you'd forgotten our… _agreement_ when I read a rather interesting article in the _Prophet_ regarding my son."

The worker tilted his head, feigning ignorance. "Agreement? From what I recall you came here inquiring about a marriage certificate. I found it for you and you departed."

Lucius seethed under his hood and leaned forward on the counter. "Yes, an agreement you purportless swine," he hissed in a whisper, "The agreement where I paid you a rather large sum to keep your knowledge of that marriage certificate to yourself."

"I'm afraid I don't have any recollection of that, sir," the man said loudly, looking very pleased with himself. "At any rate, I'd never agree to something so sordid as that. I'm not sure if you're aware, but it is rather a serious offense to offer or accept a bribe regarding confidential citizen information."

The man paused to smirk at the way Lucius shrank down further into his cloak and cast a nervous glance about himself.

"You're on probation, are you not, Mr. Malfoy?" the man said quite casually. Lucius snapped his gaze back to him and paled. The man laughed.

"If I were you," he went on, "I'd be very careful about mentioning any agreement you _think_ we had and simply be happy that your son found a woman gracious enough to overlook the fact that he has the very unfortunate handicap of having you as a father. Now, if you'll excuse me…this _swine_ has a queue of honest citizens to assist."

The worker then pointedly ignored Lucius's presence as he leaned around him to yell out to the next person waiting. "NEXT!"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 **A/N: So now they know! And now it's time for fun in Australia…and meeting the in-laws.**

 **Anywho… I'm sorry, but it may be a couple of weeks until I next update this. I've got some family functions I have to prepare for and I also REALLY need to update my other story or my readers on the other site may very well lynch me. I promise I will come back to this as soon as real life allows.**

 **That being said…THANK YOU for your continued interest in this ridiculous little Dramione. Your enthusiasm is what keeps me writing into the wee hours of the morning and on my lunch breaks at work. Love to you all!**


	17. Australia: Arrival

Hermione and Draco landed in a heap on her parents' back patio next to a set of outdoor lounge chairs. A motion-sensing light flicked on to illuminate the space in the night's darkness.

"I'm hexing Potter the moment I next see him," Draco grumbled irritably as he untangled himself from Hermione to push up to his knees.

"Ugh…already with the spiders," Hermione grimaced as she too sat up against one of the chairs and retracted her hand from the spider web it'd landed in and tried to shake free the sticky silk. "Oh, where'd the Portkey go?" she said, casting her eyes about. She spotted it a few feet away and started to lean forward for the snow globe when Draco held up a hand to stop her.

"Don't move," he said very seriously. Hermione paused midreach and glanced up at him.

"What's wrong?"

Draco stared at her with an expression somewhere between fear and fascination. "It's in your hair."

Hermione frowned at him. "What's-"

"The spider," he said, scootching away, "it's in your hair. Holy fuck, is that thing nasty."

"Well, get it out!" Hermione said, her eyes looking up as if she could see the top of her own head.

"I'm not getting near that thing," Draco shook his head.

"Draco!" Hermione scolded and whimpered at the same time.

Draco chuckled and shifted to pull his wand. He pointed it at the large arachnid crawling its way over Hermione's curls. He levitated it up and out of her hair and then, with a mischievous smile, lowered it to hover just in front of her face.

"Look how big it is!?" he grinned.

Hermione let out a startled shriek and fell backwards. "That was NOT funny," she snapped as she sat back up and glared at the animal wriggling against the spell in the air in front of her. "Get rid of it."

Draco laughed and then finally looked about for somewhere to put it.

"Shite," he said in quiet exclamation as his eyes scanned over the large in-ground swimming pool flanked by a lush yard and palm trees before them. He flung the spider off into the decorative vegetation and then turned back to Hermione. "I thought you said we were coming to Australia?"

"We're in Australia," she replied, still frowning at him. "You were expecting desert and kangaroos?"

Draco gave her a sheepish shrug that suggested that that was exactly what he had expected and she rolled her eyes.

"We're in Cairns…upper Queensland. It's tropical here," she explained as she finally got to her feet and cautiously ruffled a hand through her hair. Draco leaned forward and grabbed the Portkey she'd not yet picked up and furrowed his brow at it.

"But this says 'Sydney' on it," he said, giving the globe a shake. Hermine arched an eyebrow at him.

"And?"

Draco shrugged and put the portkey carefully into the pocket of his nearby bag. He looked around again as he pushed up to stand and suddenly snapped his face to the flood light.

"Wait," he said, squinting his eyes against the light, "did that turn on by itself?"

"It's motion activated," Hermione explained as she picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder.

Draco tilted his head at the light. "Did you set the wards for that?"

"Everything about my parents' home is Muggle, Draco," she replied, stepping over to stand beside him. At his perplexed expression, she elaborated. "Muggles have motion-sensing technology. They also have sound, heat, and touch sensitive technologies that they can apply to home security. This house has a security system that will alert the authorities and sound an alarm if anyone tries to break-in."

Draco's jaw hung open before he snapped it closed. "Physical wards," he said a bit awestruck.

Hermione grinned. "Physical magic."

Draco looked at her with a smile that fell when their eyes met. "I hope your house is alright," he said.

"I hope _Harry's_ alright," Hermione sighed. "And it's ours."

"What?" Draco looked confused.

"It's _our_ house now," she said, looking up at her parents' house when a light clicked on in an upstairs window.

Guilt and appreciation mingled equally over Draco's features. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, "I'm sorry I got you into this mess. I didn't know abo-"

"Draco," Hermione said, turning her attention back to him, "I don't blame you. It wasn't your fault."

He shook his head. "The angry letters are my fault," he scowled sadly down at his left arm. "If I wasn't-"

Hermione cut him short again. "I would've gotten this response no matter who I married. War heroine and 'pure' member of the 'golden trio' remember?" she reminded with a touch of bitterness.

"I doubt you'd have received mail that required Auror handling if you'd married Weasley," Draco sighed.

"If I'd accidentally married Ron, then I would've welcomed it," Hermione said with a fake shudder. The dark humor tricked a smile back out of Draco and he readjusted his bag on his shoulder to lean over and kiss her on the forehead. She smiled at the gesture just as the lower level of the house lit up to reveal a spacious kitchen beyond the large, glass patio doors in front of them.

"There they are," Hermione said, smiling at the house as a man and woman both dressed in night clothes and dressing gowns appeared around a corner within and approached the doors. Draco hastily pulled back and inhaled a shaky breath.

"Do we tell them?" he whispered out the side of his mouth. Hermione glanced back at him.

"Not yet."

Draco nodded and then caught sight of her exposed left arm. "Shite, your scars," he hissed as Hermione's father went to the wall just beside the doors and began punching in numbers into the home's alarm control panel. Hermione looked down and paled.

Draco grabbed her hand and swiftly yet gently pulled her arm back as he stepped behind her. With his wand still in hand from before, he cast a hasty glamour just as Hermione's parents stepped out onto the patio with wide, welcoming smiles. He tried to inconspicuously stow his wand away when Hermione's father spoke.

"You needn't hide it," Mr. Granger said, stepping up to them, "we know all about it."

Hermione tensed but Draco simply released her arm and lowered his hands as he came back around to her side.

"Sir?" he said, trying and failing to hide his sudden nerves. Mr. Granger's one brow rose ever-so-slightly.

"The wand," he said, "you don't need to hide it from us. We've grown quite accustomed to seeing one."

Hermione visibly relaxed and Draco nodded as he placed his wand into his pocket.

"And the name's Gene," Hermione's father said, holding out his hand. Draco glanced over at Hermione, but she was already embracing her mother with a happy, if a little anxious, smile. He quickly returned his attention to the man in front of him and took his hand to shake it.

"Draco," he reciprocated, with another nod. "Thank you for allowing me into your home."

"Well, technically I haven't yet," Gene said, a ghost of a smirk playing at his lips as he maintained his hold on Draco's hand. Draco gulped slightly as Gene's eyes –a near match for Hermione's- glanced down at his Dark Mark then tracked up and narrowed infinitesimally to bore into his with a calculating stare.

"Dad?" Hermione said beside them.

Gene gave Draco's fingers a last squeeze and then released his hand to look at his daughter.

"Hermione," he said affectionately, going to her to wrap her in a firm hug, "it's so wonderful to see you."

"I've missed you," she mumbled into his chest. Gene chuckled.

"I missed you too, pumpkin." He loosened his hold on her and pulled back. He glanced at Draco again and Hermione took a deep breath.

"So….you've met Draco then," Hermione said, biting her lip.

"I have indeed," he said with a smile in the blond's direction. Draco didn't miss the way his eyes scrutinized him again.

"Well, I haven't!" Ellen Granger announced, pushing past her husband and daughter to stand before him.

"Mrs. Granger," Draco started politely, offering his hand to her. She scoffed at it and pulled him in for a hug. Draco stiffened in her embrace, but cautiously raised his hands to place them on her back to complete the hug. He avoided looking at the man to their right who was still staring at him as Mrs. Granger pulled back, but kept her hands on his upper arms as she regarded him with a wide smile.

"And you had better call me Ellen," she said in a stern yet kind voice. Her green eyes searched Draco's for a moment and she sighed. "My, would you look at these eyes," she said in wonderment over her shoulder at her husband. "Gene, have you ever seen eyes this striking before?"

"Mum," Hermione said with an embarrassed chuckle.

"What?" Ellen said moving her hands up to cup Draco's face. "The grey…it's stunning."

"Um…thank you," Draco said with an awkward smile. Ellen gasped in apparent excitement and lifted his chin.

"And such beautiful teeth!"

"Ellen, stop accosting the boy," Gene said, placing a hand to her shoulder. Ellen released Draco's face and stepped back. Hermione snagged Draco's hand and gave him an encouraging I'm-sorry-my-mother-just-manhandled-your-face look and he squeezed her fingers with a return smile.

Ellen beamed as she watched the small exchange between the two but then frowned.

"Where are the cats?" she asked, looking around at their feet.

Hermione hesitated only a moment before answering. "We decided to leave them with Mrs. Figg. Draco wants to go out and learn as much as possible and I didn't think it'd be fair to leave you two with them to look after if we're out overnight somewhere."

Draco looked askance at her but didn't contradict the lie as Ellen pouted slightly.

"That was thoughtful of you, darling," she said, "but you know we'd not have minded in the least. I was rather looking forward to finally meeting little Odin."

"I promise to bring him along at Christmas," Hermione offered.

"Lucky Mrs. Figg was available on such short notice," Gene said, his eyes still on Draco. Draco looked up at him and simply nodded as Hermione squeezed his hand tighter.

"Yes," she said, "I know this was quite sudden. I hope we're not imposing too badly on you-"

"Never," Ellen interjected, stepping up to her. She placed a hand to Hermione's cheek. "You are ALWAYS welcome here. Both of you."

Hermione nodded with a grateful smile as her mother rubbed her thumb over her cheek before lowering her hand.

"Well… let's get you two inside and settled," she said then, pulling at her dressing gown, "can't have you standing out here all night."

Gene nodded in agreement with his wife and motioned for Hermione and Draco to go ahead of them into the house. Hermione tugged at Draco's hand and she led him in.

He finally looked around at the home's spacious and modern interior. "You weren't kidding about them being well-off," he whispered, leaning into Hermione's side as the Granger parents came in and secured the door. She raised an amused eyebrow at him as he let go of her hand and walked across the kitchen to look into the living room. He tilted his face up at the high vaulted ceiling and gave a low whistle.

"Maybe I should become a dentist," he said. Hermione went to him and took his hand again.

"We weren't sure which bedroom you'd want," Ellen said coming up beside them and waving at them to follow her into the living room. Gene brought up the rear as they all started through the large room towards a flight of stairs. "Your usual room is ready, of course," Ellen went on, glancing back at Hermione, "but we thought you might be more comfortable in the master guestroom, so we prepared that as well."

"Oh, the master I think," Hermione nodded as they ascended the steps. "You'll like the fireplace in there," she added to Draco beside her. He gave her an incredulous look as they all made the landing.

"We're sharing a room?" he asked quietly. Ellen stopped and turned to face them.

"Do you prefer separate?" she asked, looking back and forth between them. "We just assumed you'd want to stay together, but we have the space if you'd rather-"

"Do you want your own room?" Hermione asked him.

He gave a slightly uncomfortable look at the Granger parents without meeting their eyes and then bowed his head toward Hermione and whispered, "No…I just didn't expect it. My parents never would have allowed it."

"You're used to a more conservative upbringing," Ellen said matter-of-factly, not bothering to pretend she hadn't heard him. Draco gave a reluctant nod and Ellen nodded back in understanding.

She leveled her gaze at him. "You'll find this household to be one centered on what is logical. You two are adults in an adult relationship. We do know what that entails. There's no sense in keeping you apart solely for the illusion of chastity. We only ask that you act responsibly and respectfully."

Draco blinked back at her and then chanced a glance up at Gene who stared back with an expression that managed to be challenging and indifferent at once.

"You _are_ being responsible, I trust?" the older man asked.

"Of course," Draco answered hastily. One of Gene's brows ticked up and, when Draco started to shrink back against Hermione, Ellen stepped forward and place a reassuring hand to his shoulder.

"Don't you be afraid of him," she chuckled in Draco's ear while shooting her husband a quelling look, "he's not yet quite gotten over the fact that his little girl's grown up."

Gene simply made an indistinct grumbling noise and Ellen laughed louder and patted Draco's shoulder.

"You see? Now, let's get you two to bed. I know it's early for you, but it'll help you to adjust to the time change," she said, pushing lightly at Draco to usher him and Hermione down the hall to a closed door. Hermione opened it and flipped on the light as they all stepped inside.

Draco walked to the center of the room and swiveled his head about to take in the space.

"Now, I understand that you're not yet entirely familiar with our culture," Ellen said, watching Draco eye the décor curiously, "so please do not hesitate to let us know if there is anything we can do or explain to make your stay more comfortable."

Draco shook his head. "No," he said, turning back to her with a grateful smile, "this…this is…thank you."

Ellen went up to him and took his face in her hands again. She placed a soft kiss to his cheek and then looked at him fondly. "You are most welcome."

She released his face and then turned to her daughter. "Good night, my love," she said, pulling Hermione into a warm hug, "We're so happy you're here."

"Thanks, mum," Hermione said, returning the squeeze her mother gave her. She pulled back and Ellen patted her affectionately on the cheek before stepping aside to allow Gene in for a hug as well.

"Good night, dad," Hermione said as she tiptoed up into her father's embrace.

"Good night, pumpkin," he said as he released her. He gave Draco a tight nod, which Draco returned, and then went to the door with his wife right behind.

"We've postponed all of our appointments until the afternoon," Ellen said, looking back at them from the doorway, "so we'll have the morning to catch-up."

Hermione took in a deep breath but nodded with a smile. "That will be nice," she said.

Ellen nodded back and then, with a final smile to them, left the room, closing the door behind her.

Draco and Hermione both stared at the door. They stood in silence for a moment until Hermione finally cleared her throat.

"So?" she said, biting her lip and turning her attention to Draco. He shifted his eyes from the door to her face.

"Your father is frightening," he said.

Hermione let out a nervous chuckle. "I tried to warn you," she said, going to the bedroom closet and setting down her bag.

"And are all Muggle parents this… _open-minded?_ " Draco asked, looking at the large bed in the middle of the room as Hermione begin to levitate her belongings and clothes out of her bag into their appropriate places about the room. She gave him a look over her shoulder.

"Your parents really didn't allow you and Astoria to stay in the same room? Even when you were engaged?"

Draco shook his head. "The room she stayed in was down the hall from mine. I had to sneak over under the cover of dark."

Hermione tucked away her wand and turned to face him. "You're twenty-four. Did they honestly believe that the two of you didn't…"

Draco frowned slightly. "I imagine they knew that we… but to actually come out and say it?" he shook his head again.

"So, no in-depth discussions about sex in the Malfoy household then?"

"Certainly not," Draco answered surely. "My sex-talk consisted of my father tossing a book on contraceptive spells at me with his usual warning to not disappoint him."

Hermione tilted her head thoughtfully at him. "And how many lucky ladies benefited from what you learned in that book?" she asked.

Draco looked a bit taken aback at the question. "You really want to know?"

"Yes," she said, "a wife ought to know her husband's past, don't you think?"

"I suppose so," Draco replied with a small smile.

"Well, then," Hermione said, crossing her arms, "how many?"

He shrugged. "Besides you…just Tori."

Hermione raised a disbelieving eyebrow at him and he placed his hand over his heart. "I swear," he chuckled.

"I would have put money on you and Pansy Parkinson-" Hermione started and Draco cut her off.

"No, no, no," he insisted, his face falling into a look of sad nostalgia. "We never got past the snogging phase. She wanted more, but… as things were…between the constant fear and the crushing guilt, I…I never really was able to get in the mood."

Hermione relaxed her arms and went to him when he cast a troubled look to the floor and rubbed at his Dark Mark. She placed a hand to his cheek to lift his face. She said nothing and simply placed a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth before gently taking his bag from him. Draco swallowed around the sudden lump in his throat and blinked rapidly as she walked away to put his things away next to all of hers.

"So…" he said, rubbing at the back of his head and neck as he remained standing in the middle of the room, "how…how many, uh...partners for you, then?"

"Just Ron," Hermione answered without looking at him as she tucked his empty bag into a drawer. "We were together for four and a half years," she added, walking to the bed to sit at the foot of it. "Four and a half years and he…" She choked up a little and bowed her head. Draco finally moved from his place to sit beside her.

"He what?" he asked quietly. Hermione shrugged.

"He… he just left," she said quietly. "In the end I knew we wouldn't have worked, but for him just to leave…he forgot me the moment she batted her eyes at him…like it all meant nothing."

A single tear trailed down her cheek and she hastily swiped at it. "Sorry," she said shaking her head.

Draco said nothing, but pulled his wand and then reached into his pocket to take from it his family ring. Without a word he picked up Hermione's left hand and slid it over her ring finger.

She watched as he tapped his wand to it to resize it to fit her and then looked up at him with inquiring eyes.

"I know it's ugly," Draco muttered quietly, "but it's all I've got for now. I promise I'll get you a proper one as soon as I can."

"Draco, you don't have to-"

"I know I'm not the husband you wanted," he said, rubbing his thumb over the ring on her hand, "but until you tell me to leave, I'm staying and-"

Hermione put a finger to his lips to shush him. "I think," she said, her eyes searching over his face tenderly, "that you are exactly what I've wanted."

Draco pulled her hand gently away from his mouth and they stared at each other for a long moment with their fingers entwined until he finally raised her hands back to his lips and kissed her knuckles.

"Shall we go to bed then, Mrs. Malfoy?" he asked, letting a smile pull at his mouth. Hermione shook her head.

"Wow, that sounds so bizarre," she said, looking back down at the ring on her finger.

"Nothing bizarre about a man wanting to go to bed with his wife," Draco jested, his smile widening. Hermione rolled her eyes at him but smiled back.

"Oh Godric, help me," she fake groaned. "Our being married makes a whole new world of sarcastic quips and innuendos available to you, doesn't it?"

Draco nodded with a wicked grin and Hermione flopped backward to lie on the bed.

"I change my mind," she said jokingly, splaying out her limbs dramatically, "we need to get divorced."

Draco chuckled and turned around to crawl up next to her. He laid on his side and propped his head up on one hand.

"Before or after we tell your parents?" he asked, raising a brow. Hermione made a whimpering sound and scrubbed her face with her hands.

"What are you going to tell them, anyway?" Draco inquired as he toed off his shoes where he lay to let them fall to the floor over the foot of the bed.

"I dunno," Hermione shrugged after lowering her hands. "The truth I suppose…"

"So we tell them you married the most handsome wizard in the whole of England. Got it," Draco smirked at her.

Hermione raised herself up on her elbows so that their faces were even with each other and turned to him. "You are really something else, you know?" she said, reaching over to tuck a strand of his hair behind his ear. He simply nodded before leaning over to kiss her.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 **A/N: So I'm back! Hooray!**

 **Thank you for sticking with me and for all of your wonderful reviews and feedback so far.**


	18. Australia: Surprises

(((FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!)))

Draco's eyes snapped open and he screamed in alarm at the piercing siren and booming voice alerting the household to the presence of 'FIRE!'

His hand immediately snatched his wand from beneath his pillow and he shot out of the bed in the Grangers' guestroom. He slammed his hands over his ears at the horrendous noise and frantically darted his eyes around to find himself alone.

"Hermione!?" he shouted in a near panic. "Hermione!"

Draco bolted to the door and threw himself into the hallway. "Hermione!" he bellowed over the alarm. He ran to the stairs and vaulted himself down them three steps at a time. Hermione came rushing from the kitchen into the living room just as he reached the bottom.

"Hermione!" he yelled wild-eyed when he saw her.

"It's okay!" she shouted back as he sprinted to meet her. He flung his arms around her and pulled her into himself protectively.

"Are you okay? Are you alright!?" he asked, squeezing her harder.

"I'm fine!" she hollered back. The alarm finally turned off then, but Draco didn't let go.

"Everything is fine," Hermione said, her cheek pressed hard against his, "just a tiny grease fire. Mum put it out right away but the smoke set off the detectors." She pushed at Draco's chest lightly to pull back far enough within his arms to motion to the kitchen.

Draco loosened his grip only slightly as he peered into the kitchen to see Ellen waving a towel at the hazy remains of the smoke to direct it out an open window and Gene at the wall replacing the cover to the security system's control panel.

"I didn't know where you were," he said, his voice rough and shaky, "I didn't know where you were."

"I'm sorry," Hermione said as she rubbed her hands soothingly over his bare back, "I shouldn't have left you alone."

Draco simply stood there, still gripping his wand as he attempted to calm himself.

"Everything alright in here?" Gene called as he stepped into the living room beside them. Hermione delicately pried herself free of Draco's arms and stood back.

"Everything is fine," she answered, "Draco's just never heard a fire alarm before."

Gene looked at the still shell-shocked Draco. His eyes lingered a moment over the scar on the left side of his chest before moving on to the Mark on his arm, then the wand in his hand and then back up to his face.

"Rough way to wake up," he acknowledged. "I admit the damn thing nearly sent me into arrest the first time I heard it as well."

Draco forced half a crooked smile at him just as Ellen came up to them, towel still in hand.

"I am so sorry," she began, "leave it to me to startle you half to death the first morning you're he-"

The words died in her throat as her eyes too fell over the large scar on his chest but she recovered quickly.

"...here," she finished, hastily looking Draco in the eyes with a reassuring smile. "I hope I didn't put you off eating. Breakfast is done…well done some of it," she joked.

"No," Draco said, his hand self-consciously rubbing at his chest, "I, uh…I'm famished actually."

Ellen smiled wider and looked to her daughter. "Why don't the two of you go on and get ready while we finish up."

Hermione nodded as she placed a hand to Draco's upper arm. "We'll be back down in a few minutes," she said, pushing him lightly toward the stairs as the Grangers retreated back into the kitchen.

"Are you okay?" Hermione whispered to Draco as they ascended the steps. He merely scowled ahead.

"I am sorry," she apologized again, "I was actually just about to come and wake you when the alarm went off."

"Why didn't you wake me when you got up?" he asked, shrugging away from her as they entered the bedroom. "Why did you do that to me?"

Hermione cringed slightly. "I didn't expect that to happen. You don't need to be embarrassed. They understand that you aren't familiar with Muggle techno-"

"You think I'm upset because of that!?" Draco glared at her, his voice rising. "You think I give a fucking rat's arse what two _Muggles_ think of me? That I didn't understand their fucking insane fire ward or whatever the fuck!?"

"Draco," Hermione tried to calm him as he began to pace.

"No!" he said, stopping to point at her, "you don't get to tell me not to be upset. Not when you left me alone in a strange house, in a strange bed, to wake from one fucking nightmare only to be thrust into another!"

Hermione stood in place, staring at him. "Nightma-" she started to ask. Draco cut her off again.

"I didn't know where you were!" he yelled, his face contorting with anger and anguish. He sunk down to sit at the foot of the bed and raised a shaking hand to his forehead. "I didn't know where you were," he repeated brokenly, casting his eyes to the floor.

Hermione watched him sag and shiver at the edge of the bed a moment and then went to him. She cautiously lowered herself to sit beside him and placed a hand to his thigh. Draco immediately put his hand over hers and squeezed.

"What was the nightmare?" Hermione asked softly. Draco furrowed his brow sadly at the floor.

"Room of Requirement," he whispered, "final battle…"

Hermione closed her eyes at that and squeezed his fingers harder. "And you woke up to a voice screaming 'fire'," she said regretfully, opening her eyes again.

Draco made a quiet sobbing noise in his throat as he said, "And you were missing."

"I'm sorry," Hermione whispered once more. Draco finally looked up at her and then released her hand to wrap his arms around her. She slipped her arms around his middle and rested her head on his shoulder.

"They noticed my scar," Draco whispered after a moment.

Hermione nodded slightly against him. "They won't ask about it."

Draco slowly pulled back from her and released a tired breath. "I, uh…I'm sorry," he said awkwardly.

Hermione shook her head. "You don't have anything to be-"

"I'm sorry I said 'Muggles' the way I did," he interrupted her, "…like it's a bad thing."

She pursed her lips. "It's fine, Draco. I know that-"

"No," he insisted, "it's not fine. Your parents are lovely and they've offered us a place to stay without asking anything in return and then I…"

He took a deep breath. "I don't think of them like that anymore, you know. I don't think Muggles are filthy. I don't."

"I know," Hermione replied gently. "I know."

Draco looked thoughtful for a moment. "I do still think that they might all be a tad mad, though," he said.

Hermione arched an eyebrow at him. "How so?" she asked, amusement leaching into her tone.

"Only a lunatic would invent such a terrifying alarm," he said. "Honestly…what the hell? That was worse than a Caterwauling Charm."

"The idea is to make sure everyone in the house hears it so they can get to safety. It wouldn't be much of an alarm if one could easily sleep through it, now would it?"

"I suppose not," Draco muttered as he summoned his clothes. "Still seemed a bit much."

Hermione sighed and then leaned over to kiss his cheek. "Thank you, by the way," she said.

Draco arched a brow at her. "What exactly are you thanking me for?"

"You were jolted awake to the threat of fire and the first thing you did was come looking for me," she said.

"Your annoying Gryffindor propensities must be rubbing off on me," he said as he sorted out his clothes.

Hermione pushed at his rumpled hair. "I'm sure that's it," she said with a small knowing smile. Draco looked sideways at her with a small grin.

"So," he said as he tugged on a t-shirt, calmer now that the adrenaline high and subsequent crash had finally ebbed, "um…how exactly do you plan on breaking it to your parents that we're married?"

Hermione sighed slightly as she rose and went to the closet. "I think we ought to ease them into it," she said, pulling open the door, "try and lessen some of the shock with some pleasant conversation first?"

"Whatever you think is best," Draco replied, shimmying out of his bottoms. Hermione turned and smirked at him.

"You're sounding more and more like the perfect husband," she teased.

Draco gave an amused snort. "Right," he said shaking his head. Hermione smiled at him for another moment and then set about getting herself ready.

"Do you think they're going to be upset?" Draco asked quietly after he'd finished and was standing against the door frame watching Hermione wrestle her hair into a plait. She shrugged halfheartedly as she fastened a band around the end of it.

"Mum might take it okay, but Dad…" she sighed as she stepped over to him. "I don't think he's going to be happy. I'm always going to be his little girl and I think it might be hard on him that he missed out on seeing me get married."

Draco took Hermione's hand and looked down at his ring. "There's nothing preventing us from having a proper ceremony in the future," he said, "if you wanted…"

Hermione smiled admiringly and tiptoed up to kiss him gently. When she lowered herself she tugged at his hand to lead him into the hall. "Let's go get this over with."

They descended the steps together and walked still hand-in-hand into the kitchen to see Gene collecting napkins and silverware while Ellen spooned the various foods she'd made onto plates.

"Is there anything we can help with?" Hermione asked, looking about at the makings of the Full English she'd prepared.

"No, no" Ellen insisted, waving her serving spoon at the two of them, "you two sit. I'll bring it 'round to you."

They headed to the large table in the dining area then and Draco pulled one of the chairs out for Hermione. She smiled at him as she sat.

"You don't see that much anymore," Gene commented, coming up beside them to set several sets of utensils on the table. Draco looked at him slightly confused as he lowered himself into the chair next to Hermione.

"Sorry?" he said in inquiry.

Gene nodded to Hermione. "You don't see too many young men pull out the chairs anymore. It's a shame, really, how many of the younger generation use the concept of modern feminism erroneously as an excuse to skirt around doing what was once considered chivalrous."

"I think it's more to do with absentee parenting and modern hook-up culture," Hermione said as she leaned back to allow her mother to set a plate before her.

Gene nodded at his daughter's assessment and then looked to Draco who'd also leaned back as Ellen gave him his plate. "What do you think, Draco?" he asked, taking the seat across from him.

Draco blinked at the man and then cleared his throat. "I think this breakfast looks delicious."

Ellen laughed as she came around the table with the last two plates in her hands. "He's on to you, Gene, darling," she said as she took her seat and handed her husband his breakfast. "That'll teach you to be unspecific in your questioning."

Gene merely hummed as Ellen leaned forward on the table then and reached across it to place a hand over one of Draco's.

"Good for you not letting these two bully you into one of their infamous back-an-forths on current social mores," she said, tilting her head at Gene and Hermione. "It's best not to encourage them."

Hermione and Gene made the same small harrumphing noise and Draco smiled as Ellen winked at him and retracted her hand.

"Yes, well," Gene said, picking up a fork, "clever topic diversion tactic aside, I believe Draco is correct; this breakfast indeed looks delicious. Shall we begin?"

There was a general nodding of heads as they all retrieved forks and knives and the small group began to tuck in to their morning meals.

"I apologize for the lack of bacon," Ellen offered as they ate, "it really wasn't salvageable after my little mishap with the pan. I confess we're usually so hurried most mornings that we've grown accustomed to settling for tea and toast. It would seem I've have lost my touch in the kitchen."

"No," Gene said, reloading his fork with beans, "you've quite out-done yourself, love."

"Yes," Draco agreed as he stabbed another mushroom, "this is one of the best breakfasts I've had in ages."

Ellen smiled humbly at them as she sipped her tea.

"You really didn't need to go through the trouble, though," Hermione said to her, "we're used to simpler breakfasts ourselves."

Ellen set down her mug. "Nonsense," she said, "It wouldn't have done to have you eating a few measly toast points for your first meal here."

Hermione smiled appreciatively at her before resuming her eating. They all ate in companionable silence for bit until Ellen patted at her mouth with a napkin and turned her attention to Draco.

"So," she said lightly, "aside from the regrettably rude awakening, did you sleep well?"

Draco slowly finished chewing his bite of sausage before answering. "No worse than I usually do," he replied, not quite raising his eyes to the Grangers as he then hastily stuffed another bite into his mouth.

Gene and Ellen exchanged a covert glance.

"Draco," Gene said after clearing his throat lightly and turning to him, "Why don't you tell us a bit about yourself. Hermione's told us quite a bit already of course, but she was a tad vague on some points."

Draco set down his fork and looked back and forth between the two Granger parents. "I'm sorry, I really don't know what Hermione's already told you. What would you like to know?"

Gene casually forked a tomato. "Well, what is your field of expertise? Do you work in your Ministry with Hermione?"

Draco seemed to be contemplating how to answer. "I, um...I'm not what you'd consider conventionally employed," he finally said a bit uncomfortably. Gene's eyebrow began to rise and Draco rushed on, "I have taken something of an interest in alchemical manuscripts. I've studied several quite extensively."

"Alchemy?" Gene said, casting a concerned glance at Hermione before looking back at Draco.

"It's a respectable field in the wizarding world," Hermione tried to explain, but the Granger patriarch simply made an unimpressed hum in his throat.

"Surely you've done other things," Ellen chimed in with an encouraging smile when Draco started to look unsure of himself.

Draco gave a slight shrug. "Well, I had recently begun looking into accounting and portfolio management."

"Finance?" Gene said, sounding much more approving. Draco nodded.

"It was a necessity really," he said, "My father was going to begin preparing me to take over as director of our estate when he's no longer able. Our accounts are so numerous it's something of a full-time job in itself."

"Certainly," Gene nodded, "proper asset allocation takes careful consideration. Diversification too. Do wizards have a standard market system?"

Draco suddenly looked much more comfortable. "I've only recently begun to learn about Muggle finance, but from what I've gathered so far, no. We really don't have anything resembling your stock markets. I'm sure the goblins play behind the scenes in the Muggle realm, but for the rest of us our investments are far more long term. Our family's kept the same accounts for centuries."

"Do those types of long-term investments generate a decent reward?" Ellen asked curiously.

Draco nodded as he speared another sausage onto his fork. "Fairly decent. Probably not as much as your kinds of investments might, but when you're working with millions it really becomes a moot point. Plus there's virtually no risk."

"So, what's your current total worth, then?" Gene asked outright.

"Dad," Hermione frowned at him but Draco appeared entirely unperturbed by the question as he quickly swallowed his bite to answer.

"What did I tell you the Muggle equivalent was?" he said, turning to Hermione, "Nine-hundred-ninety-six million Pounds?"

Ellen choked on her sip of tea. "Nine-hundred-ninety-six _million_?" she said flabbergasted.

"Give or take a million," Draco shrugged, picking up his mug.

Both Grangers blinked at him in silent shock.

"Draco and I are married!" Hermione suddenly blurted out.

Draco choked on his sip of tea. "That…that's how you tell them?" he asked, turning a stunned face to her. "That's ' _easing them into it'_?"

Hermione shrugged with an apologetic grimace. "It just sort of fell out of my mouth."

"Just fell out of your mouth?" Draco gaped at her.

Both Grangers simply continued to blink at them.

"Well, I figured they were already shocked…might as well lay it all out there now," she said with another shrug. Draco stared at her a moment and then slowly eased himself back in his chair to tentatively shift his gaze up at his still speechless in-laws.

"If it's any consolation," he said to them, "it was a surprise for us too."

"Explain," Gene finally demanded, calculating brown eyes boring into the blond across from him.

Draco simply turned to Hermione again who sighed and lifted her left hand from her lap to show them all the ring on her finger.

"It was enchanted," she said, nodding to her hand, "the ring. We didn't know. Draco gave it to me for safe-keeping and it magically married us when I accepted possession of it."

Both Grangers continued to gawk.

"What?" Gene said, brow furrowed. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"No. The ring married us," Hermione repeated, shaking her head. Ellen gave a nervous laugh.

"Surely you can't be serious?" she said skeptically. "How can a piece of jewelry marry two people without their full consent? That's preposterous."

"It's quite serious in our world," Draco answered bluntly.

"And legal," Hermione added informatively. "As far as the Ministry's concerned we are husband and wife 'til good ol' death do us part…or we get divorced."

Ellen stared at her daughter. "You are serious. Your government actually allows this?"

"Not the worst thing they've condoned," Draco muttered.

"Not helpful," Hermione hissed at him. He rolled his eyes and Gene narrowed his at both of them.

"Is this the reason for your coming here?" he asked sternly. "To tell us this?"

Hermione and Draco exchanged glances.

"We…we had to come because…" Hermione started hesitantly, "well…somehow news of our marriage was leaked to the press, and…and…"

"And it was too much," Draco intervened. "Famous as we both are, the reporters were insatiable and we simply weren't prepared to deal with it all when we were still coming to terms with the marriage ourselves."

Hermione cast him a small, grateful smile as she reached her hand over to his to squeeze his fingers.

"How long do you both plan to avoid dealing with this, then?" Gene asked, setting down his fork with an angry clink. "How long until you go back and demand that your ridiculous excuse for a governing body annul this marriage?"

"Gene," Ellen said in warning when his voice began to rise.

"No, don't you _Gene_ me," he said turning to her. "I want to know how they intend to fix this."

"There's nothing to fix," Hermione said quietly across the table.

Gene and Ellen both snapped their attention back to their daughter to see her holding herself very straight in her chair.

"The marriage can't be annulled," she said, relacing her fingers tight with Draco's, "we already consummated the bond. And…and we don't want to get divorced."

"What are you saying," Ellen stared at her, "you're going to remain married?"

Hermione and Draco both nodded.

"Hermione, darling," she nearly pleaded, "I know you said that you were sure, but…you've only been together what…a few weeks?"

Hermione looked both of her parents in the eyes. "Draco and I…our history goes back much farther than a few weeks."

"Oh, don't think we've forgotten that," Gene said severely. "You think we'd forgotten the tear-stained letters those owls brought to us when you were in school? We'd forgotten the stories of how you were harassed daily for the absurd notion that you were somehow filthy?"

He turned his harsh gaze to Draco and suddenly pushed out his chair to stand. Draco visibly flinched at the abrupt movement and Gene's hard stare faltered at the sight.

"Ex…excuse me," he said shortly, "I need some air."

The others all watched him go silently and when Gene slid the one door shut loudly behind him they all cringed.

Ellen slowly looked back at Hermione and then Draco. "He'll be alright," she said sounding subdued. "He…he just doesn't do well with emotions."

Hermione and Draco merely squeezed their hands tighter together as they watched Gene stalk off into the yard.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 **A/N: Things get better. Gene and Draco are going to have a little heart-to-heart…. and then something might happen with that pool.**

 **Love to you all for the encouragement!**


	19. Australia: The Men Talk

Ellen met her husband in the center of their yard and placed a hand to his shoulder.

"Do you plan to spend the remainder of your day out here brooding," she asked, tilting her head up at him, "or can we expect you to come back in and join us?"

Gene merely passed her the brown, severely wrinkled newspaper he had in his hands. She frowned down at it curiously, but took it from him.

"What's this?" she inquired as she turned it over.

"I found it here in the grass," he said flatly.

Ellen read the headline and inhaled a sharp breath. "Oh my," she whispered with a hand to her lips.

"How am I supposed to be alright with this?" Gene asked her, shaking his head as he stared off into the plant life. Ellen's brow knitted together as she silently continued to stare down at the paper.

"He has their mark, Ellen," he said, troubled. "I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. I did. But this..."

"There has to be more to the story," Ellen said surely. She quickly skimmed the rest of the article and then handed it back to her husband. "I doubt Harry Potter would have vouched for someone he believed to be a criminal."

Gene frowned at the portion of the article that his wife was pointing to that indeed recounted how Draco had escaped conviction.

"Talk to him," Ellen said with a hand placed gently to his arm. "Go and talk to the man your daughter loves."

Gene closed his eyes in defeat. "And just what am I supposed to say to him?"

Ellen squeezed his arm. "You'll know what to say."

"No," he said, turning to meet her gaze, "I can barely keep up with Hermione. Their world is just so…"

"Different?" Ellen offered when he trailed off.

Gene inhaled an anxious breath. "Cruel," he sighed, "backwards. I understand why Mother left it behind."

Ellen made a humming sound and he looked back at the house. "He flinched when he saw I was angry, Ellen. What twenty-something flinches like that? And he was absolutely terrified when he thought Hermione was missing this morning. And that scar…"

Ellen laid her head against his shoulder. "They're all scarred," she whispered unhappily. "Harry and Ronald were too. Remember those faint swirls on Ronald's arms."

"And Hermione told some tale about how they were caused by thought tentacles or some nonsense?" Gene groaned in recollection.

Ellen nodded. "I don't even want to begin imagining what caused the scar on that boy in our kitchen," she whispered with a troubled look.

Gene sighed. "He was hiding Hermione's scars last night," he said as he wrapped an arm around his wife.

"I know," she said.

"He called her that word," Gene said, shaking his head, "that word that's etched into her. He used to call her that."

Ellen pulled herself free from him and forced a sad smile at him. "And now he doesn't."

Gene rubbed tiredly at his forehead.

"Just talk to him," Ellen suggested again. She turned to leave him then, but paused to say over her shoulder, "Hermione and I will be upstairs going through some of my old clothes."

Gene watched her for a moment and then started after her.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Draco and Hermione both watched through the kitchen window above the sink as Ellen walked out to meet Gene.

"She'll calm him down," Hermione said as she passed Draco a plate. He dried it with an absentminded flick of his wand and set it aside with the others.

"I don't think so," he said, squinting out at the Grangers. "Fuck."

"What?" Hermione asked, looking up from the next plate she'd grabbed to begin washing.

"The paper," Draco said as he watched Ellen read over the tattered _Prophet_ he'd dropped the night before, "I…I still had it in my hand when we Portkeyed."

Hermione set down the plate and gulped, her eyes trained on her parents.

"They'll know what I am," Draco said nervously, backing away from the sink, "they're going to know what I did."

"It will be okay," Hermione said surely, but Draco was already beginning to hyperventilate against the nearest wall. "Draco…"

She went to him and placed a hand flat to his chest. "Draco, look at me."

He slowly raised his apprehensive eyes to hers and she smiled encouragingly. "I know what you are," she said, her other hand covering his Mark, "and I'm not going anywhere."

Draco exhaled a shaky breath and merely slipped his arms around her and hugged tight. He closed his eyes when Hermione returned the embrace and rested her cheek on his shoulder.

That's how the Grangers found them when they reentered the house.

Hermione and Draco both snapped their faces up at the sound of the patio door closing. Draco's face went even paler than usual as he swiftly dropped his arms and tensed his shoulders as if bracing for an attack. His knuckles were white around the wand still clutched in his right hand.

When both Gene and Ellen eyed the polished stick Hermione gently squeezed her hand to Draco's upper arm. The gesture appeared to calm him slightly as he let his shoulders loosen and he quickly bent and stowed the wand at his ankle.

"I, um…"Gene started after clearing his throat when Draco stood straight again, "I apologize for the way I conducted myself earlier." He looked at Draco specifically. "I regret if I made you feel unwelcome."

Draco opened his mouth slightly as if to speak, but responded instead with a tight, jerked shake of his head.

The four of them simply stood there then, shifting their eyes between each other and the walls awkwardly until Ellen smiled and stepped over to her daughter.

"Hermione, darling," she said cheerfully, "I thought we might go through my wardrobe together. I recall you mentioning that you're always in need of new ensembles for work and I've got a number that I've been meaning to rotate out. Perhaps you'll find some you like to take home with you."

Hermione smiled back at her and, apparently understanding the covert, significant glance her mother made between Gene and Draco as the woman put her hand to her arm, turned to Draco.

"Do you mind?" she asked gently. He cast a wary glance at Gene but shook his head.

"No, of…of course not," Draco said, forcing a lopsided smile, "go… enjoy yourself."

Hermione gave him a searching look and then leaned in and placed a kiss to his cheek. "It'll be okay and I'll be just upstairs," she whispered to him before pulling back. He nodded once and then swallowed hard as he watched her slip out of the room at her mother's side.

The women's absence allowed another thick silence to settle over the kitchen as Draco and Gene both shifted on their feet on opposite ends of the room. Draco looked at the folded newspaper in the older man's hand and unconsciously pressed his left arm to his side to hide his Dark Mark. Gene noticed.

"So," he said, dropping the paper into a rubbish bin beside the counter, "I understand that you've met Mark Mitchell."

Draco stared at the bin as he answered. "I have."

"Good man Mark. How did you like his track?"

"It was quite the experience," Draco answered honestly. "I wouldn't mind another go round."

"Wouldn't we all?" Gene said with a friendly nod, then paused. "You know, there was a time when I was something of a petrolhead myself."

Draco didn't bother hiding his ignorance of the term. "Petrolhead, sir?"

"Car enthusiast," Gene clarified in a tone so similar to Hermione's that Draco smiled to himself. "I wonder," he went on, "if you might be interested in taking a peek under the bonnet of one of my own little beauties?"

"Uh, yeah," Draco replied, rubbing at the back of his head, "yeah, that'd be great. Any opportunity to learn, right?"

Gene's eyes flickered with something. "Indeed," he said. Draco shifted on his feet again, but before he had a chance to look uncomfortable, Gene started toward a door and motioned for Draco to follow.

"Come on. I'll introduce you to Claire."

Draco looked perplexed at the statement, but followed Hermione's father across the room to the door.

"Watch your step," Gene called over his shoulder as he flipped a switch beside the door and then stepped through. Draco went directly after him, looking down as he descended two short stairs, and then looked back up to find himself in a large, clean, utilitarian room.

Seeing Draco's bewildered look, Gene waved his hands around at the space. "This is what we call a garage," he said informatively.

"Garage," Draco repeated as he calmly cast his eyes around at the steel shelving and cabinets along the walls. Gene studied him as he came further in.

"I confess I'm impressed by your composure," Gene said, crossing his arms.

Draco furrowed his brow slightly at him. "I'm sorry?"

The older man smirked. "The last wizard Hermione brought here went a bit… _hysterical_ when I showed him this room. Had to touch everything. A bit embarrassing to be honest."

"Weasley?" Draco asked casually as he resumed his quiet perusal. Gene's brow ticked upward.

"You know Ronald?"

The skin around Draco's eyes tightened a little. "Yes," he answered shortly. Gene simply watched him for a moment and then went on.

"Anyway," he said, "the kid went on for an hour about how his father would love to see it all. Asked if he could take home a box of spark plugs. Apparently the man has an affinity for all things mechanical."

Draco sniffed. "Yeah…well, I think I could bet my life on the fact that my father would detest everything about this place."

He immediately looked like he regretted divulging that bit of truth, but Gene merely shrugged and went to the center of the garage where a very large, tarp-covered mound took-up most of the space.

"Even this?" he said, bending over slightly to grab the bottom edge of the cover. He lifted it and swiftly, yet carefully folded it back to reveal an immaculate, shining vintage car.

Draco's jaw fell open slightly and he appeared to stop breathing.

"This is Claire," Gene said with a smug grin as he set the car cover to the side. Draco sucked in a breath and then gave a low, impressed whistle. He reached a hand out toward the car but then stilled it midair as if unsure he were allowed to touch.

Gene smiled at that. "Go on. You can touch her."

Draco took a step forward and slowly, reverently placed his palm to the front of the car. "Do all Muggles refer to their cars as women?" he asked with genuine curiosity.

Gene shook his head. "No. But my Claire's a lady, don't you think? Isn't she beautiful?"

"She's the second most beautiful thing I've ever seen," he breathed as he ran his hand along the car. Gene didn't bother asking about what the wizard considered to be more beautiful as he stepped around the car and unlatched the bonnet. Draco removed his hand and stepped back as the man folded it up to reveal the engine.

"She's a Rolls Royce," Gene explained as Draco stared on with the same covetous gleam in his eye that he'd had when he'd first seen Mark's racer.

"I don't know what that means," he confessed as he touched a hand to the side of the car again and appeared to luxuriate in the feel of the sleek finish beneath his fingertips. Gene pursed his lips in thought as he watched Draco's eyes dart inquisitively, hungrily, over the exposed engine. He caught a flash of the Dark Mark when Draco pointed excitedly to the manifold and began asking questions but he simply smiled as he answered.

Draco nodded then in quiet awe as he listened to Gene explain the specs of the car and its history and performance capabilities.

"I usually take her out on Sundays," the man was saying as he carefully closed the bonnet, "to make sure she keeps running smooth and proper. We're a few days early, but..."

He stepped back around the car and opened the passenger side door. Draco gawked at him and he chuckled.

"Surely you wouldn't turn down an invitation from a beautiful lady?"

Draco allowed himself to smirk. "Depends on the lady," he said and Gene chuckled again.

"I suppose so." He motioned to the car seat. "Care for a spin?"

"Absolutely," Draco answered, stepping up and carefully sliding into the seat as Gene went around to the driver's side. He looked around eagerly at the car's interior while Gene got in.

"Don't forget your door," Gene reminded and Draco leaned over to pull the door shut. Gene shut his at the same time and the loud sound made Draco's eyes go wide. He silently gulped at the realization that he had just been effectively caged.

"You're good," Draco said quietly. Gene didn't acknowledge the statement but merely smiled as he ran his hands caressingly over the steering wheel.

"I've never let anyone but family sit in this car," he said with an idle tone. The declaration hung in the air as he made no move to start the ignition and Draco shifted in his seat. Gene squinted through the windscreen as if trying to focus on something far away and then inhaled deeply before, very casually, pushing up his sleeves. The action very obviously bared his naked lady tattoo and Draco immediately looked over at it.

"Ugly, isn't she?" Gene joked, holding the arm up. Draco made a nervous, noncommittal noise and Gene laughed. "It's alright," he said, "You can admit it. The bitch is ugly."

Draco choked out an involuntary laugh at that and Gene tilted his head at his own arm as he admired the faded, poorly inked, pin-up style woman. "Did Hermione tell you I had this?" he asked lightly.

"She did," Draco answered as he tried again to hide his own desecrated arm. Gene hummed, his eyes still on his tattoo.

"Then she told you how I got it I presume?"

Draco's face sobered slightly as he nodded.

"And I also presume she explained how her mother abhors it?"

"Apparently there was a question over whether Hermione could remove it," Draco said and Gene nodded.

"I almost let her," the man said, his face going serious as he rubbed a thumb over the inked skin, "but, ugly as she is, I couldn't part with her. She means something…you know?"

Draco suddenly regarded the tattooed lady as if she were a snake about to strike.

"Comradery, loyalty, brotherhood," Gene went on. "She's more than a naked woman drawn onto me by a drunk vagabond in the back of a pub while I was on leave with my fellows. She's everything I went through in my service to Her Majesty's army, everyone I met, every life I became a part of."

Draco cast his gaze away from the woman to his lap where he slowly rolled his left arm to make his Dark Mark visible. Gene glanced at it for a millisecond before continuing on.

"I was a soldier," he said, "though I never saw combat." He paused to swallow a bit too hard. "Something I wish I could say for my daughter."

Draco's face fell a little more and Gene furrowed his brow a bit. "I imagine I can't say it for you either," he added and Draco shook his head mutely in affirmation.

Hermione's father stared back out the windscreen and frowned. "It's been difficult for me," he said, "trying to come to terms with a world so different from my own for the sake of my daughter. A world that puts deadly weapons into the hands of eleven-year-olds and expects them to fight... Difficult for me to let my daughter enter it and more difficult still to see that world try to destroy her because of me."

His hands gripped the steering wheel as he bowed his head. "Difficult," he continued, his voice tight, "to hear her screams in the middle of the night as she relives the nightmares that world has given her. To see the scars it's given her."

Draco raised his face at that and Gene nodded without looking at him. "Yes, we know about the scars. She's tried her damnedest to hide them, but we've seen…seen the lines….the lines someone decided she needed to wear for the rest of her life."

"Someone," Draco whispered. Gene looked sideways at him.

"Someone like you," he said very evenly.

Draco's fingers clawed down his Mark as he glared at it. "Someone like me," he agreed bitterly. He raised his left arm and presented the faded skull and snake. "Brotherhood," he said, "that's what they said it'd mean…what they told me."

Gene looked at Draco's face as he continued.

"Loyalty," Draco nearly spit out, "and fear and pain…and death."

He paused to inhale a steadying breath and then lowered his arm. When Gene said nothing, he leaned forward and tugged up the leg of his jeans. He straightened back up with his wand in hand.

"Did Hermione ever show you something called a Patronus charm?" he asked without meeting the eyes of the man next to him.

Gene shook his head. "I don't believe she has, no," he answered quietly, focused intently on the wand.

Draco watched his own fingers rub over the stick of ebony wood. "It's supposed to be one of the most difficult spells to cast," he said, "many wizards will go their whole life trying to do it and never succeed."

Draco lifted the wand. "May I?" he asked with a polite nod to it. Gene waved a hand.

"By all means," he said and Draco flicked his wrist in a precise movement.

 _"Expecto Patronum."_

The silvery-blue octopus was produced at once and glided forth with ease.

"My word," Gene breathed out as he watched the wispy animal crawl lazily through the air.

Draco smiled at it as the very presence of the thing seemed to alleviate the tension and dark tone of the conversation. "I shouldn't be able to make one. In our world it's considered common knowledge that Death Eaters can't produce a Patronus. It requires happiness, you see, _pure_ happiness to be cast. One must think a truly happy thought as they recite the incantation for it to work."

He sighed as he watched Gene stare in awe at the octopus that was wrapping its tentacles around the steering wheel.

"Hermione knew me, saw me at my worst as a Death Eater…and she still…" he choked up a little and Gene looked back at him. Draco closed his eyes as he calmed himself and then opened them again.

"She still had faith in me. Didn't even think twice about teaching me how. I got it on the second try," he finished with an appreciative look at the magical cephalopod he'd made.

"It's an awe-inspiring thing," Gene noted and Draco released the spell. The octopus dissolved into nonbeing as he stowed his wand at his leg once more.

"No," Draco said, shaking his head, "no, what is awe-inspiring is how I am able to produce it."

"Your happy thought?" Gene asked solemnly.

Draco nodded as he rubbed at his Mark again. "My happy thought: That a woman I've wronged in more ways than I care to admit, a beautiful, clever, strong woman like Hermione would…and did give _me_ a second chance."

He turned then and looked Gene in the eyes. "I don't deserve your daughter. I never will. But she is very literally my happiness and, if she lets me, I will live my life making sure she has everything that _she_ deserves in both your world and ours. And I can say with certainty, sir, that I will go to my grave loving her."

Gene stared back at him without comment and then nodded once before turning to face forward again. He put one hand to the steering wheel and used the other to turn a small lever on the polished wood dash.

"Push that silver button, Draco," he ordered kindly, pointing to the starter, "and let's see how Old Claire's feeling today."

Draco gave him a small, lopsided smile and leaned over to push the button. The car started with a joyful sounding rumble.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 **A/N: I've never been so glad that my beta reader is a man. Thank you, Patrick, for your insights into the male mind.**

 **There was some question from someone about Draco's scar. It is from the sectumsempra spell Harry used on him in their sixth year. In HBP it was described that he had wounds to both his face and chest and Snape explained that he might be able to avoid scarring. My headcanon is that the facial wounds were shallower and didn't scar…but the ones on his chest were deeper and did.**

 **Thank you for you continued support of this strange little story. :)**


	20. Australia: The Women Talk and Fast Food

"They've been gone nearly four hours," Hermione said anxiously, glancing at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room.

Ellen set the book she'd been reading since they had settled into the living room after their clothes exchange in her lap and looked up. "I'm sure they're fine. Your father never takes Claire out for less than an hour at a time."

Hermione closed the book in her own lap. "I still can't believe Dad took him for a drive. He wouldn't even let Ron touch her."

"Well…Draco's family now, is he not?" Ellen asked casually. "Is it so much of a surprise that we would treat him as such?"

Hermione didn't answer as she looked pensively down at her lap. Her mother considered her a moment.

"How long were you hoping to keep us ignorant of Draco's past?" she finally asked gently. Hermione shrugged.

"Indefinitely, I suppose," she answered with a quiet sigh. She looked up guiltily at her mother's silence. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just…"

"Didn't want to give us more reason to dislike him?" Ellen offered understandingly.

Hermione's fingers fidgeted with the book's binding. "Does it make me a terrible daughter if I say 'yes'?"

Ellen set aside her book and moved to sit beside her. "I'd never think you were a terrible daughter," she said lovingly, placing one of her hands over Hermione's. Hermione cast her gaze downward again.

"But that's just it, mum," she said. "I know that you and Dad, no matter how upset, would always support _me_ in the end. But Draco…he's already been…well, let's just say he doesn't have quite the same level of familial support."

"And you were afraid of how he'd react if we'd condemned him for his past and he'd felt rejected by two sets of parents," Ellen summarized sagely, nodding.

Hermione nodded as well and inhaled deeply. "We had to flee England, mum," she confessed tremulously, her eyes beginning to well. "When…when news got out about our marriage…we received hate mail. _Dangerous_ hate mail. Harry had to call in the Aurors."

She looked up and met her mother's concerned gaze. "The last thing Draco and I heard before we left was Harry trying to reassure us over the sounds of shouting and explosions from the ground floor of our house," she said, a tear spilling over to track down her cheek. Ellen reached up at once and brushed it away with her thumb and Hermione sniffled.

"It's going to be hard," Hermione went on, "so hard and he's already been through enough… _I've_ been through enough. The thought of you or Dad not accepting him on top of it all..."

Ellen silently got up from the couch and went to a side table to retrieve a box of tissue. She brought it back to the couch and handed it to Hermione as she sat again. Hermione plucked two tissues out and dabbed at her face.

"Thanks," she whispered. Ellen sighed.

"Hermione," she started kindly, yet firmly, "I won't lie and say that reading that newspaper headline wasn't something of a nasty shock. But never once did it occur to me to condemn him. It was more the suddenness of it all that caught us off guard."

Hermione raised a skeptical brow at her and she smiled. "Honestly, my love," Ellen continued patiently, "While I confess that I'm a bit unsettled by the manner in which you were married, I'm not upset at either of you for choosing to remain together. And I don't fault him for his past. Draco looks at you with an adoration that cannot be faked. Whatever his previous behavior, he seems sincerely eager to make up for it now."

"And Dad feels that way as well?"

Ellen smiled wider. "If he didn't before, I'm sure he does now. You know how he has that way of wheedling the truth out of people when he wants it."

Hermione laughed as she wiped away the last of her tears. "Yes, I do," she replied. She sighed heavily as she turned her attention to the tissues she was now wadding up in her hands. "I don't even know how all of this happened so quickly. One day Draco's the bully from my past. The next he's making me blush with crude jokes. And then he's confessing his love as my husband. It almost doesn't seem real when I think about it."

"Love is mysterious," Ellen agreed, placing her hands to Hermione's head to turn it. She casually began pulling her hair back with her fingers.

"Love," Hermione whispered as her mother began plaiting her unruly curls.

Ellen smiled serenely. "The adoration is in your eyes too," she said softly.

Hermione bit her lip and started shredding the half-soggy tissue in her hands. "How on earth did I fall in love with Draco Malfoy?" she said, closing her eyes at the feel of her hair being tamed.

Ellen hummed in thought as she gently fussed with the curls. "Have you given any thought to whether or not you'll take his name?" she asked.

"Not yet," she answered. "There hasn't been any time to really. It's not yet been two full days since we learned that we'd been married."

"Do you want to have a reception to celebrate the marriage?" Ellen asked.

Hermione opened her eyes and blinked at the wall in thought. "I don't know about that either," she said after a moment. "There's quite a bit that we'll have to discuss."

"Well, you'll have plenty of time this afternoon. You'll have the whole place quiet and to yourselves. It will likely be a late night at the office for us to make up for taking the morning off."

"I'm sorry-" Hermione began, but her mother cut her off.

"Don't you be sorry," she said sternly. "We were happy to take the time off to be with you. In fact, we were delighted when we received your call. We truly have missed you."

Hermione smiled. "I've missed you too."

"It will really be wonderful having the two of you here for the next week or so," Ellen said as she braided. "We should all of us go out for dinner this weekend," she suggested pleasantly. "If it wouldn't interfere with any plans you and Draco have already made, of course."

"Dinner would be lovely," Hermione agreed. "And we really haven't any plans as of yet. Though, while I've got the time off from work, I'd really like to take advantage and help him experience as many things here as possible."

"Any ideas?" Ellen inquired with genuine interest.

Hermione shrugged. "He really enjoyed the speed and rush at Uncle Mark's…so I was thinking I might take him to an amusement park. He really loves films, so a trip to the cinema might be in order. And he's never seen the Reef, but, to be honest, I don't even know how well he can swim."

"Well, we've got the pool here," Ellen offered. "You're both welcome to it. It's not exactly swimming season, but the heater should keep the water pleasant enough."

"Did you forget where we live?" Hermione chuckled. "Twenty five degrees there would definitely be swimming weather."

Ellen laughed as well. "Yes, I suppose so. I forget sometimes how we've acclimated to the warmth here. Anymore, I can't manage to get myself into the water unless it's over thirty. Your father's the one that insists on keeping the pool open year-round."

"I like early morning swims," Gene's voice suddenly rang out. Both women visibly startled at the sound of his statement and whipped their faces around to see him and Draco standing in the kitchen holding several paper bags and drink cups.

"For heaven's sake," Ellen said with her hand to her chest, "you gave us a start."

"We didn't even hear you come in," Hermione agreed, as she got up and made her way to them.

Gene smiled and nodded to an impish looking Draco. "I told him to use one of those nifty silencing spells of yours," the older man confessed. "Wanted to make a grand entrance."

"For our surprise," Draco added.

"Well, I don't know about grand," Ellen frowned reproachfully, as she stood and joined them as well. "But it certainly was a surprise."

"Your surprise?" Hermione asked, quickly disregarding the topic of entry methods and her father's unexpected sanctioning of Draco's use of spells, as she met Draco's eyes with a look of anxiety.

But he beamed as he held up the weighted paper bags clutched in his left hand. "We brought lunch!"

"I can see that," Hermione couldn't help but smile back at his enthusiasm.

Ellen, however, frowned disapprovingly at the logo on the bags they were holding. "You took him out for fast food?"

"What?" Gene shrugged innocently. "I thought he'd enjoy the experience of the drive-through."

"Yes, because apparently you've not yet lived until you've ordered chips by shouting at a box on the side of the road," Draco drawled with a smirk.

"Shouting is right," Gene laughed, wiggling a finger in his ear. "I might've gone deaf if I'd let you carry on much longer."

"And you made him order!?" Ellen scolded, smacking her husband's upper arm.

"Well, I had to make sure it heard me," Draco said defensively, not taking notice of Ellen's indignation on his behalf.

"How else is he supposed to learn?" Gene answered Ellen, ignoring Draco. "Besides, he was quite excited to relay his success in doing so."

"You take him out for the least healthy food available?" she harrumphed, crossing her arms. "Coke, Gene? Really? You know what that stuff does to teeth. Why not just have him drink acid?"

"Acid?" Draco paled a little.

"He ordered it, not me!" Gene laughed at his wife.

"I'm sure," she said with a nod to his hand. "And I'm to believe he ordered the one you're holding as well?"

"There's nothing wrong with the occasional sugary beverage," Gene defended himself. "And you know it."

Draco was eyeing the drink cup in his hand with trepidation. "I ordered acid?"

"Look, now you've frightened him," Gene said. He lifted his own drink to his mouth and sipped from the straw. "You see…It's not going to harm you."

"Debatable," Ellen huffed but Draco was looking to Hermione who'd remained silent as she watched them all with something between shock and amusement. She smiled and reached forward to take the drink from his hand.

She took a sip and then grimaced slightly as she swallowed. "Just fine," she said with hand to her chest as she held the drink back to him.

"That wasn't very reassuring," Draco said wide-eyed.

"It's fine, really," Hermione insisted with a chuckle. "It's just been a while since I've had one-"

"I'm glad to hear it," Ellen interjected.

"-and the carbonation burns a little," Hermione finished.

" _Burns_?" Draco looked aghast and Hermione and Gene both laughed again.

"Drink it," Gene said, nodding to the cup authoritatively.

Draco looked back and forth between them all and then, hesitantly, put the straw in his mouth and sucked. He spluttered the moment the liquid hit his throat.

"Holy shit," he wheezed, shaking his head and holding the cup out away from himself. Hermione took it from him as he composed himself.

"Are you okay?" she asked, biting back a grin. Draco smacked his lips.

"Yeah," he answered, staring at the cup, "just a bit startled by the fizziness."

"Well, it is a fizzy drink," Hermione said, taking another sip for herself.

"Hey! Don't drink it all," Draco said, snatching it back. He took a huge gulp and this time sighed appreciatively after it went down. The other three stared at him.

"Like it then?" Gene smirked.

Draco nodded vigorously as he drank again. "It's like liquid sweets," he said, his eyes twinkling and fingers gripping the cup possessively.

"I'm afraid you may have just created a monster," Hermione said, looking to her father. He merely smirked wider.

"I expect you all to brush your teeth thoroughly after this," Ellen said, still frowning at the way Draco was guzzling the beverage.

"Why have you never offered me this before?" Draco demanded of Hermione between sips. "What other glorious Muggle concoctions have you been keeping from me?"

"Hey, now there's a question…" Gene playfully mused out loud at his wife's order. "Do wizards have a spell for teeth cleaning?"

"I've not been _keeping_ anything from you," Hermione answered Draco. "And, dad, I've already told you we have dental care spells, but that brushing is more satisfying."

"Yes, but what do you call them?" her father asked, his face pulled into an exaggerated look of deep thought.

" _Densanare_ ," Draco answered Gene, straw still at his lips.

"Don't encourage him," Hermione warned. "Unless you want to spend the next hour discussing the merits of proper dental maintenance."

Ellen finally laughed and plucked the drink cup from Gene's hand before he could object. "Perhaps we ought to," she teased, looking up at him with a raised brow. "Dr. Granger here seems to have forgotten the essentials."

Gene's eyes darkened mischievously at her. "Who was it that graduated top of our class again, _Dr._ Granger?"

Ellen rolled her eyes at him, but kept her smile. "Oh don't you start with that," she said. "You only beat me because I let you copy my notes."

"Like mother like daughter?" Draco whispered at Hermione. She wrinkled her nose at him.

"Why don't we move to the table," Ellen suggested with a grin at them, "and see what other _nutritious_ fare has been obtained for us."

"Yes, let's," Hermione agreed heartily, bumping shoulders with Draco as they all turned toward the table. "Everything okay?" she whispered into his ear when her parents went ahead of them. He merely nodded as he set the bags he was still holding and his drink upon the table before pulling out Hermione's chair for her. She gave him a look as she moved to sit but he'd already begun to take his own seat as the Grangers did the same.

As they each settled into place, Gene reached into the bags to pull out and place the various food items Draco had successfully ordered in the center of the table.

"Help yourselves," he said invitingly with a wave over the pile of paper and cardboard containers of sandwiches, burgers, and chips. Ellen and Hermione both gaped at the assortment.

"I didn't know what everyone liked," Draco said somewhat sheepishly, "so I ordered one of everything."

Gene rather unsuccessfully tried to stifle a laugh with a cough and Ellen tsked at him.

"That was very thoughtful of you," she said, turning from Gene to give Draco an appreciative nod. He nodded back and then followed Gene and Hermione's lead in picking out a container of food to try.

"So…" Ellen spoke up, looking between the two men after taking a small sandwich for herself, "besides your drive-through experience, how was the rest of your drive? You were gone for quite some time."

Gene smiled. "Claire was running like a dream. We took her all over the city. I think Draco appreciated the tour."

"I did," Draco agreed. "Your city is quite beautiful and appears to offer many activities I wouldn't mind exploring further. Gene was kind enough to point out the ones he thought would enhance my experience here."

Ellen hummed as she arranged her food. "You had a good time, then…?" she said, smiling first at Draco and then fixing her husband with a meaningful stare.

Hermione's hands slowed in their movements to open her food as she too carefully eyed her father and then Draco for their reactions to the statement.

Both men exchanged a brief glance before smiling back at their wives.

"It was a good learning experience," Draco said.

"For both of us," Gene added.

Hermione let out a breath that she'd been subconsciously holding and smiled around in relief at her family. Her expression turned almost bashful and she bit her lip when her eyes met Draco's and he winked at her. He nudged his foot against hers beneath the table and she nudged him right back as they both turned their attention to their lunches.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Ginny cracked open the door to her husband's study and peered inside. "Harry…?" she called out gently at the sight of him with his head in his hands at his desk.

Harry looked up over the mountain of mail heaped before him on the desk. "Are you alright? Where's your mum?" he asked at once, his green eyes zeroing in on her belly. She smiled at him and slipped into the room.

"I'm perfectly fine," she answered. "Mum's sleeping."

"It's the middle of the night," he said in reprimand, "you ought to be in bed as well."

Ginny pulled at her dressing gown and waddled rather gracefully to his side. She looked down at him and ran a hand affectionately through his disheveled hair. "Pot, meet kettle," she grinned.

Harry sighed and closed his eyes at the feel of his wife's simple touches.

"What's wrong?" she asked him after a quiet moment. He sighed again.

"I don't know what to do," he said tiredly. He opened his eyes and looked to the pile of letters all addressed to Draco and Hermione. He reached for one that he'd set aside and held it up. "Tell me what to do," he nearly begged.

Ginny squinted through the candle light of the room at the elegant script written on the envelope and pursed her lips.

"Did she curse it?" she asked, lowering her hand from his hair to support her pregnant belly. Harry shook his head.

"Not that we could tell. None of these contain anything physically or magically harmful," he replied with a wave of his hand over the heap. "We destroyed the others."

"Then you need to send them," Ginny said decidedly.

"But who knows what these all say?" Harry wondered out loud. "I haven't cause to _read_ them and there's a better than good chance that many are vile." He held Narcissa Malfoy's letter up a tad higher for emphasis.

"Hermione doesn't deserve this," he added, sending the letter back into the pile with rather malicious flick. "It's bad enough that they had to basically flee the country."

Ginny considered the giant mound of mail. "Hermione should have expected that this was going to happen," she said calmly. "And anyway, she's not exactly made of glass."

Harry's brows cocked upward. "Have you forgotten the past year and a half?"

"This has nothing to do with what happened with Ron," Ginny insisted firmly.

"She's not been herself since he left," Harry disagreed. "I mean, obviously she's still herself, but…I dunno. With Malfoy she seems _herself_ again, you know? Godric's ghost if I understand what the hell she sees in that blond wanker, but he's made her happy somehow. I don't want any of this to ruin it for her."

Ginny frowned at the letters. "You still have to send them. It's their business and they deserve to make their own decision on whether or not to read it all. And you don't know that it's all bad. I imagine there are people who see them as a sign of the progress that's been made between the blood statuses since the war. If even one of these letters expresses that sentiment, you know that Hermione would easily forget all the rest."

Harry looked thoughtfully at the mess on his desk again. "You're right, of course," he said reluctantly, "but…would it be wrong to wait to send them until they return at least?"

"Send them now," she advised. "It'd be so much worse for them to spend their entire honeymoon in the dark about what's going on and then come home to this. Better for them to get them now so they have time to recover away from the chaos here if the responses are all nasty."

"I know of at least one response that's bound to be nasty," he said drearily.

Ginny's eyes darted back to the mail. "Did Ron send one?"

"I doubt he knows yet," Harry answered, shaking his head. "I'm sure we would've heard from him by now if he did."

"That's going to be a fun conversation," Ginny noted sarcastically.

Harry groaned and leaned toward her. He rested his forehead on her swollen middle and lightly gripped his hands to the side of it, parting her dressing gown. "Merlin, what a mess," he muttered as Ginny rubbed at his scalp again. He nuzzled his nose into the fabric of her night shirt just as baby James gave a kick. "I'm glad you agree," Harry whispered to his unborn son. "I forbid you to ever marry a Malfoy, do you understand? I forbid it."

Ginny chuckled and tugged at her husband's head to lift it. She gazed down at him. "Come to bed. You can worry about this in the morning."

Harry released an exhausted breath and then nodded in agreeance as he stood. He started to follow Ginny out when suddenly the letter pile exploded outward. A startled yelp and a very loud expletive was heard as Harry dived to shield Ginny.

"It was just Odin," Ginny puffed, hands splayed protectively over her belly, brow furrowed over her husband's shoulder. Harry turned to glare at the kneazle rolling around on the desk sending the remaining envelopes raining over the sides to the floor.

"I am so going to murder this damn cat," Harry growled, scowling at the wild-eyed Odin.

"You should've sent them with Hermione," Ginny said, the disapproval of his decision to not send the cats with their owner clear in her voice.

Harry glanced over to Crookshanks who was curled up and sleeping in an armchair in the corner of the room and huffed. "How was I supposed to know that Mrs. Figg was on holiday?" he bemoaned.

Ginny too looked at Crookshanks who was surrounded by a thick layer of shed orange fur on the upholstery and then back to Odin who had bounded into Harry's leather chair and was attempting to sharpen his claws on it.

"We are never getting a cat," she said.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A/N: I'm back! Sorry for the long delay in updating. Anyway it won't be nearly so long for the next chapter as it's almost done. And next chapter will have fluffs. Thank you so much for sticking with me!

Also: 25 Celsius = 77 Fahrenheit, 30 Celsius = 86 Fahrenheit


	21. Australia: A Pool

**A/N: This chapter includes mature content.**

 **Thank you so much for your continued interest and encouragement! Means more than I can convey. :)**

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"We'll be back sometime late tonight," Ellen said, pulling back from hugging Hermione.

"We'll be here," Hermione replied, hooking her arm through Draco's at her side.

Gene held the front door open a bit wider to allow his wife to slip out of it after she readjusted her bag over her shoulder. He glanced back at Hermione and Draco with a parting nod just before leaving himself.

When the door clicked shut behind the Grangers, Draco puffed a breath. "What now?" he asked, still looking at the door.

Hermione turned to him. "It's been ages since I've gone swimming."

Draco slowly turned his head to look back at her, a wolfish grin spreading across his face.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Ronald…Mon nounours?"

Ron Weasley chewed at the inside of his cheek as he read the article for the third time. He made no movement to indicate that he heard the quiet female voice calling for him as he sat stock still, eyes on the newspaper he'd finally gotten around to reading.

Gabrielle Delacour lowered her lighted wand as she slipped into the kitchen from the dark hallway. She ended her _lumos_ with a flick when she found her fiancé seated at their table.

"Mon nounours," she said again, "eet ees so early. Why are you up?"

Ron blinked at the newspaper and then set it down slowly upon the table. "I woke up. Couldn't fall back asleep," he answered in monotone. Gabrielle furrowed her silvery brows and glided to stand beside him.

"Somesing ees wrong?" she asked, looking down at him. Ron took in a giant breath and finally tore his eyes from the paper to look up at her.

"Something is wrong," he replied, his voice turned gruff. Gabrielle's eyes met his with tender concern as she placed a hand to his shoulder. He brought his own hand to it and squeezed it affectionately. "Gabs?" he said gently.

"Oui?" she responded expectantly. Ron's expression became a determined scowl as he looked back at the paper.

"I need to go to London."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Draco lounged back on the bed in their guestroom, already dressed in his swim trunks, and folded his arms behind his head. He eyed Hermione as she twisted her hair up to clip it off her neck. "So…can I buy you a two-piece now?"

Hermione shot him a look that teetered between irritated and amused. "No," she replied, finishing her hair and turning to face him. He pouted.

"But I've already seen, well… _everything_ ," he popped his brows. She chucked her hair pick at him. He laughed as he ducked away from it on the bed. "Can I help it that you're sexy as hell?"

"This isn't revealing enough?" Hermione asked, hands on her hips, inclining her head downward to the snake skin print swimwear she had on. Draco didn't answer right away and instead swung his legs over the side of the bed and jumped up. He looked her up and down as he stepped up to her.

"I won't deny that you look incredible in this," he said, slipping his hands around her waist, "but this is one of those less-is-more situations."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You are not buying me anything. This is enough."

"I'll buy you whatever I damn well please," Draco retorted. Hermione poked him in the stomach causing him to chuckle and take a step back.

"You're on a budget now, remember?" she chided as he rubbed at his bare abs.

"I'll always make sure I have enough to spoil you," he grinned. "I bought you something just today, in fact...while I was out with your father."

Hermione narrowed suspicious eyes at him. "Like what?"

Draco shrugged. "Well, it wasn't a two-piece," he said, snatching up the towel she'd brought out for him. He turned a roguish smile to her. "Race you to the pool?"

"Draco," Hermione began to pry, "what did you buy m-"

But Draco strolled toward the door. "Let's go, princess," he ordered over his shoulder, "I want to get you wet."

"Tell me what you got -"

"Nope!" he hollered merrily as he jaunted out of sight into the hallway. With a grinning huff, Hermione grabbed her own towel and then jogged out of the room to try and catch up to him. When she finally got to the open back patio doors she found Draco standing stock still beside the pool.

"Stop," he warned loudly at the sound of her sliding the doors shut. "Don't come closer."

Hermione tensed at the tone of his voice. "What's wrong?" she asked anxiously.

Draco shook his head and tossed his towel on a nearby chair. He squatted down at the very edge of the pool and gave the water a shifty look as he sniffed. "Something's wrong with this water," he said concernedly. Hermione ignored his warning to stay away and came up beside him and looked down.

"What do you mean? It looks fine to me," she said, dipping a toe in. Draco immediately grabbed her leg and yanked her back.

"No!" he shouted at her. "Don't touch it!"

Hermione stumbled a step back and then steadied herself. "Draco!?" she half-yelled back at him. "What is the matter with you?"

Draco ignored the question as he snatched her towel from her hand and started hastily wiping at her wet foot. "Are you alright?" he questioned urgently, inspecting her skin. "Does it burn?"

Hermione gawked down at him. "What are you doing? My foot is perfectly fine."

"You put it in that water," he said angrily. "I told you, something's wrong with it. It smells caustic. Someone must've dumped something in it."

Hermione's concerned frown lifted with sudden understanding. "You're cute when you're protective," she said. Draco looked entirely nonplussed at her happy disposition.

"What?"

"Do you trust me?" she asked seriously, edging closer to the pool ledge.

Draco blinked at her as he stood up. "Yeees…?" he answered warily, drawing the word out.

"That wasn't very convincing," Hermione said, now grinning.

"Well, you're making me nervous," he replied, his vision locked onto her feet inching toward the water.

"This is a Muggle pool," she said as if that ought to have been enough explanation to quash his unease. But Draco merely continued to frown at her and she held out her hand to him.

"The water is supposed to smell this way. I promise it is safe. Now, come here," she ordered. Draco still looked unsure, but dropped her towel and reached out to clasp her hand. Hermione tugged him closer to her side.

" _Do_ you trust me?" she asked him again. Draco's grey eyes searched her face for a moment before he nodded.

"Yes."

Hermione leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Then jump with me," she whispered. He smiled.

"Do you remember what happened the first time you suggested I jump with you?" he said, alluding to their time on the trampoline. Hermione squeezed his hand.

"How could I forget?"

They gazed fondly at each other for a moment until Hermione squeezed his hand again.

"Well," she began, "shall we go in on three then - aaah!"

A surprised screech tore from her as Draco suddenly grabbed her about the waist and flung them both into the pool.

"You prat!" Hermione roared with a laugh the moment she resurfaced, swiping the water from her face. She blinked around rapidly in confusion at the quick realization that she'd surfaced alone. "Draco?"

She squinted around to try and make out his form beneath the water. "Draco?" she repeated, twisting about in place rapidly to scan the entire pool. She found him a few feet away, still submerged up to his eyes and staring at her over the water like a crocodile.

"What has gotten into you?" she asked, shaking her head at him. He merely winked at her before sinking beneath the surface again. Hermione watched his blurry image as he swam under the water toward and then around her. She kicked at him and he grabbed her ankle.

"Draco!" she cackled in merriment as he tried to tug her under. She kicked at him again with her other foot and she felt his hands shift from her ankle to smooth up her leg. She gazed down to see him staring up at her, his mouth and nose surrounded by a large bubble of air.

" _What are you doing_?" she mouthed down at him. He smirked and ran his hands up to the edges of her swimsuit at her hips. He started to slip his fingers beneath.

"Oh, no you don't!" Hermione squealed as she grasped at his hands with her own. She quickly whispered the incantation for her own bubble-head charm and then plunged herself below only to be immediately entrapped by Draco's arms.

Hermione wriggled within his embrace and laughed inside her bubble as Draco brought their heads together. His lips formed an O as he blew to expand his air bubble causing it to envelope Hermione's and then spread around both of their heads.

"Having fun?" Hermione asked laughingly, her voice echoing around the bubble with a tinny warble. Draco smiled.

"I'd forgotten how cool this charm is," he said, his eyes darting around at the flexing walls of the air pocket. "I haven't done it in ages."

"You got over your fear of the water rather quickly," Hermione said smugly.

Draco shrugged. "Well, you said it was safe and I believe you. Besides…I told you I wanted to get you wet," he said with a suggestive smirk. Hermione wrinkled her nose at him playfully as she kicked her legs to wiggle free of him. She took a deep breath from their combined bubble before pulling her head away from Draco to leave him alone within it and then, without warning, swiped her hand over it. It popped rather dramatically and Hermione shot herself to the surface as Draco floundered on the pool bottom at his unexpected loss of air.

After wiping the water from her eyes, Hermione peered down just as Draco popped up. When he broke the plane he whipped his head back, creating a dramatic spray of droplets that went in all directions. Hermione cringed slightly as they pelted her and Draco laughed as he slicked back his hair with both hands.

"Who's afraid of the water now," he teased, blinking at her through the water clinging to his lashes. Hermione rolled her eyes as she fought to wrangle her wet hair, which had come free, back into the clip.

"Well, this is a lost cause," she growled in frustration, giving up when her hair refused to cooperate.

"Here," Draco said, holding out his hand for the clip. Hermione looked at him with mild surprise but placed the hair accessory in his palm. "Turn around," he ordered.

A coy smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as Hermione complied and turned about to face away from him. Draco closed the rest of the short distance between them and then placed the clip lightly between his teeth as he began to gather up her soggy curls in his hands.

Hermione closed her eyes as Draco pulled her hair up and twisted as he'd seen her do earlier. He held the mass with one hand as he took the clip and pressed it to her head.

"Funny to think that I used to fantasize about cutting this hair off," he said, tucking an escaped tendril into the twist, "when all I want to do now is watch it bounce around your face."

Hermione opened her eyes. "You used to fantasize about cutting off my hair?" She tried to turn around to look at him, but he slipped his arms around her again and press himself against her.

"Every day," he purred, his lips brushing the shell of her ear. Hermione's breath caught and he smirked. "It started after you accidentally whipped me in the face with it during Care of Magical Creatures. You were backing away from one of those godsawful skrewts just as I was running past to that smelly little cabin to seek safety and you got me right in the face with it," he recollected with a nostalgic fondness as he began to tug Hermione idly through the water.

"Umm…" she tried not to smile as she lazily kicked her feet while they moved, "that wasn't exactly an accident."

Draco's mouth stilled on its way down the side of her neck. "Come again?" he said.

Hermione turned her face to see him. "I remember that and…well, I, uh…I sort of…did that on purpose."

"I'm sorry," Draco said, tightening his arms slightly, "did you just say that you whipped me in the face with your hair _on purpose_?"

Hermione shrugged sheepishly in his grasp. "Well… you were being a brat. In my teenaged brain a little hair in the face seemed an appropriate comeuppance."

Draco chuckled darkly. "Appropriate comeuppance…hmm. So do I get to punish you now for your petty vigilantism?" he asked before biting the top of her shoulder. Hermione shrieked and wriggled madly against him as he added a bit of tickling to his decade-old retaliation.

"Draco! Draco, stop! Draco!" she laughed raucously.

"Say you're sorry for assaulting me with your beautiful hair!" Draco hollered back as he kept on poking her ribs. "And apologize for punching me in third year while you're at it!"

Hermione screamed in tortured delight and flailed. "Never!" she yelled as she swished her hand forcefully through the water sending a wave right into his face. He let go of her at once as he spluttered. Hermione spun about and immediately looked repentant as Draco choked to catch his breath.

"Dirty play," he wheezed, squinting at her through tearing eyes.

"Are you alright?" she asked sincerely.

He spit out his tongue and wiped his fingers over it. "Glagh," he made a disgusted face, "this water tastes funny too."

"Well, it's not meant to be consumed," Hermione replied, apologetically pushing his soaked fringe off his forehead.

Draco rubbed a hand over his face and then looked around at the small waves breaking against their bodies. "So…tell me why this water smells and tastes like it should kill me."

Hermione sniffed at the air. "Your nose must be really sensitive; I can barely smell it."

"What is _it_?" he prompted again.

"Chlorine," she answered, watching her own hand as she glided it through the water. "Muggles use a safe compound of it as a biocide to keep water clean."

Draco snorted. "Seems contradictory to include the words 'safe' and 'biocide' together in the same description," he said. Hermione smirked at him.

"It's safe for humans. Not safe for algae," she chuckled.

"Clever of them, though," Draco added, "Muggles, I mean…always finding ways of doing things. I find it impressive."

Hermione nodded. "And we've barely scratched the surface of Muggle innovation in your learnings."

Draco looked thoughtful and swam forward to ring her in his arms again. "Show me more, then."

Hermione met his gaze as they tread water together. "I was curious about that, actually."

He hummed at her in inquiry and she bit her lip. "Well…I know we've been telling my parents that you're still interested in discovering their culture, but…" she trailed off.

Draco's smile faded. "But what?"

"The only reason you started this whole 'learning' experience was to get me to spend time with y-"

"Can't we just enjoy ourselves?" Draco interrupted, his eyes suddenly pleading. "Can we not talk…just swim and-"

"We _need_ to talk," Hermione said firmly, pushing at his chest.

His arms fell away from her as he backed away. "Alright…Let's talk then," he said in monotone. Hermione cringed slightly at the mask of indifference that began settling over his face.

"Please don't," she said. He stared at her.

"Please don't what?"

Hermione sighed. "Draco…we need to be able to just talk to each other."

"What do we need to talk about?" he asked stiffly.

"Many things," she answered patiently. "But for starters, I want to know how dedicated you actually are to this. Do you want to learn just enough to get by, or-"

Draco cut her off. "I want to learn EVERYTHING," he said seriously.

Hermione hesitated at his intensity. "Why?" she inquired guardedly. He looked away from her.

"Draco…"

"What else do you want to talk about?" he tried to divert.

Hermione frowned at him. "Why won't you answer me?

Draco glanced back up at her. "Because I don't want you to take my answer the wrong way."

"What do you mean?" she asked quietly, her tone cautious.

Draco studied her face for a moment and then lifted his left arm from the water and held it up. Hermione's eyes darted to his Dark Mark but slid swiftly back to his face.

He turned his head to look upon his arm with contempt. "I want to learn everything, do everything," his upper lip rose as he spoke, "because I can think of no better 'fuck you' to the man that did this to me than for me, the _perfect pureblood_ heir, to willingly turn myself into what he hated most…and to enjoy every fucking second of doing so."

Hermione swallowed hard as she watched him glare at his Mark. "So…so you're still just using me," she said quietly. Draco lowered his arm and looked back up at her.

"You see," he said with a scowl, "that's exactly why I didn't want to tell you. I knew you'd take it that way. That's not how it is at all."

"Then explain it to me," she ordered calmly.

Draco looked deep in thought. "If you decided you'd had enough of showing me new things right now...it would be fine. But I'd figure out a way to continue learning it on my own."

Hermione swam back into his arms. "Why?" she asked gently.

He finally smiled again. "This Muggle stuff," he went on, looking down at her, "making magic without magic…feeling the physical world in a way I never even considered to be possible… I've never felt… _freer_."

He brought a dripping hand up from the water to cup Hermione's face. "You freed me. Freed me from ignorance. From my fear. From a life without choice. You…the fact that you continue to free me every day…that you're willing to keep helping me…it baffles me."

Hermione smiled up at him silently and then set her lips to his. Draco responded at once, gripping her so tightly he lifted her. The passion of the kiss elevated swiftly. They grasped at each other, moving through the water together in a mass of groping hands and harsh panting breaths. Draco suddenly pulled back. He gasped for air, as he grabbed for the edge of the pool and tugged them over to it so he could touch bottom.

"Need traction," he explained promptly at Hermione's questioning glance. She bit her lip in lustful anticipation at that and Draco grinned salaciously before capturing her mouth with his own again. His hands travelled up her body as his lips and tongue began to wander down her jaw to her neck.

"We…should…talk…more…often," Draco breathed out between kisses, his hands finally at her shoulders. Hermione blinked up at the sky, her fingers in his wet hair, as he hooked his into the straps of her suit and pulled them down her upper arms.

"We need to talk," she whispered reluctantly. Draco ignored her and ducked his head down to her bared chest. "Draco…" Hermione gasped, her head falling back as he laved at her right breast just above the water's surface. "We…we…we need to…talk," she stuttered out.

"Then talk," Draco mumbled against her skin as he reached up and pulled her arms down from his head to permit her suit straps to fully come free. She languidly allowed him to slip one of his hands down the back of the loosened swimsuit to grip her bum and then raised her legs one at a time as he yanked the suit the rest of the way off. He chucked it up onto the patio where it landed with a slop.

Hermione moaned as Draco's hands returned to her torso, pressing her into the pool's wall, his head still bowed to her breasts. Her fingers threaded into his hair again as she panted from his ministrations, her eyes fluttering shut as his hands slipped lower.

"Draco," she said just as his fingers began to trail down the V of her hips, "do…do you want me to take your name?"

His hands and mouth stopped at once.

Nothing but the sounds of the lightly sloshing water and the pool's filtration system were heard in the silence that followed the question. Draco brought his hands back to Hermione's waist and rested his forehead against her collar bone.

"Must we talk about this now?" he groaned.

Hermione gently tugged on his hair to force him to look up at her. "Yes," she said.

Draco huffed impatiently. "Yes, I would prefer us to share a surname," he answered her question in a rush, "can I resume worshipping your body now?" He began to duck his head again, but Hermione pushed him back.

"Draco, please…this is important," she said seriously. "There are still so many things that we have yet to address and-"

"And we can address them all later," he interrupted. He pursed his lips at her sternly when she opened her mouth to object again and she snapped it shut. "I have you alone. Starkers. In a pool. In a beautiful garden," he went on determinedly. "We have HOURS of time to ourselves tonight. I promise that later we can talk about whatever you like for as long as you like, so long as you let me pleasure the fuck out of you RIGHT NOW."

A surprised, strangled noise caught in Hermione's throat as a lovely flush colored her cheeks. Her mouth opened and closed several times as she blinked at him, her eyes filled with her obvious conflict between wanting to talk and wanting him to continue his plan.

Draco read her expression and then sighed as he took hold of her left hand and lifted it from the water.

Without a word, he tugged his family ring from her finger and chucked it over his shoulder. Hermione watched in mild shock as it sailed over the pool into the dense vegetation of her parents' garden and disappeared. She snapped her attention back to him to see him fumbling with the tiny pocket sewn just inside the waistband of his trunks.

"Draco, what're you-" Hermione wasn't able to finish the question before Draco extracted his hand and held it up to reveal something shiny pinched between his fingers. Her eyes widened slightly at the sight of the glinting diamond ring. "Where did… how… is this what you bought today?" she stammered.

Draco gently slid the ring onto her finger. "Your father might've taken us by a jeweler," he said. He raised her hand to his mouth and placed a soft kiss to her knuckles. "Fun fact: My credit card still works here," he mumbled as he lowered her hand. Hermione didn't respond and Draco looked up to find her staring at the ring with a blank expression.

"Um," he cleared his throat, suddenly looking unsure, "if…if you, uh, don't like it I've thirty days to exchang-"

"No," Hermione cut him off. She met his uncertain gaze. "I love it."

She peered back down at it and gently tilted her hand to catch the sun in the diamonds as she inspected the intricate, vine design that made up the band. "It…it reminds me of the carvings on-"

"Your wand," Draco finished for her. He smiled at her dazed nod. "Yeah, that's why I chose it," he added quietly.

Hermione's lip trembled slightly in the brief silence that followed as she studied his pensive face. After a moment, Draco swallowed hard and inhaled a deep breath.

"I am committed to this," he said seriously, bringing her hand up in his own again to rub a thumb over her ring. "I know it was fast and I know we are young and I know a million other things need to be done…but I know what I want. And I want this. I want this mind," he said, letting go of her hand to place his palms to either side of her head. "And I want this soul," he added, moving his hands to rest over her heart. "And I want this body." He smoothed his hands down her ribs to her waist.

Hermione yelped in surprise as he then, without warning, hefted her up from the water to sit her on the pool's edge. She braced herself quickly and then immediately tried to cover her middle with her arms. Draco grunted in displeasure and tugged her hands away before spreading her legs and moving to stand between them in the pool. He ran his fingers up her thighs again and rested them at her sides.

"I will always want this," he repeated fiercely before kissing along a line of her scars. Hermione made a quiet moan and Draco pulled back to gaze up at her.

"I…I want this too," she whispered down at him. Draco smiled but then suddenly looked to her right when something caught his eye.

"What is it?" Hermione asked in concern when he stopped and frowned.

He cocked his head to the side as he regarded a small statuette nestled beside a potted plant behind her. "What is _that_?" he asked curiously.

Hermione turned to look over her shoulder. "What," she asked, brow furrowing at the space behind her, "the gnome?"

"WHERE!?" Draco shouted in alarm, kicking and splashing as he hastily and immediately moved himself to the safety of the pool's middle. "Kill it!"

Hermione gawked at him. "Draco, what in the-"

"Did you get it!?" He shuddered dramatically and cast panicked eyes around himself. "Did you get it!?"

Hermione bit her lip as the realization hit her. "I forgot," she said, trying to mask her amusement, "you're afraid of gnomes."

He shuddered again and shook his head rapidly. "Don't even say the word. Ugh…horrible, nasty things."

Hermione did a quick, wandless _accio_ to bring the small, clay garden decoration to her hand. She held it up. "Draco…this is a MUGGLE gno-"

Draco made a disgruntled growl and she didn't finish the word.

"It's inanimate, and looks nothing like the real thing," she explained patiently. She tapped her nail against it to demonstrate its lifeless state, but Draco still scowled at the squat little man wearing a pointy red hat in her hand.

"Well, I don't like the Muggle ones either," he snarled.

Hermione smiled and gently tossed the gnome into a dense patch of the garden where it disappeared from view behind the lush leaves. "All better?" she grinned at Draco.

He pouted in the direction that she'd sent the little statue but cut through the water to bring himself back between her legs. "For now," he said with one last shifty glare at the tropical plants.

Hermione reached forward and combed her fingers through his hair as she wrapped her legs around his back. "I promise to protect you from the big, bad gnomes," she teased.

"Watch it, witch," he growled back, but smirked at her cheek. She gave a hard tug to his hair as she quirked a feisty brow.

"I believe you were intent on _pleasuring the fuck out of me?"_ she said and then shivered as she watched Draco's pupils blow in an instant.

He made a feral rumbling noise and slid his hands up her thighs as he fixed her with his lust-glazed stare. "Right you are," he said, gripping his hands to her arse to tug her closer and then swiftly set his mouth to her.

Hermione's nails reflexively dug into his scalp as she bucked into his face. "Holy shit," she gasped. He chuckled darkly.

"Ah, Mia," he whispered huskily against her, "we're only getting started."


	22. Australia: Wake-up Calls

Hermione groaned and cracked open one sleepy eye at the sound of her mobile receiving a text message. She flopped her hand onto the nightstand for it and glared at the screen.

It was a text from Harry.

 _YOU UP?_

Hermione blinked open both eyes and dropped the phone back down.

"Ugh, no," she answered groggily to herself. Her quiet statement caused Draco to stir beside her.

"Sleep," he said hoarsely, tightening the arm he had draped over her bare waist and nuzzling his face into her neck.

"Mmm," she hummed in agreement, closing her eyes once more, "sleep."

Draco briefly lifted his arm to tug the blankets higher up over them and then pulled her close again. Hermione cozied down into his embrace and sighed contentedly as they laid together, their legs entangled in their warm, little cocoon.

"I like this," she whispered. Draco merely nodded against her.

The phone started ringing.

Hermione made an exaggerated moan of displeasure.

"I'm going to murder whoever is making that thing ring," Draco grumbled irritably as he loosened his hold on her to allow her to sit up in the bed. Hermione scrubbed her face with her hands and then glared sideways at her mobile again.

"It's Harry," she said, eyeing the caller ID.

Draco opened one eye and glowered sleepily up at her. "He's a dead man," he replied.

Hermione gave him a wry smile, but picked up the mobile and placed it on speaker.

"This had better be important," she answered the call without a greeting, "or I have it on good authority that you will meet an unpleasant end."

"Very unpleasant," Draco chimed in from where he still lay.

 _"Did I wake you?"_ Harry's voice carried out of the device. _"I sent you a text."_

Hermione rolled her bleary eyes. "You mean the text asking me if I was awake? The text I didn't answer because I was sleeping?"

Harry hesitated on the other end. _"Uh...yeah. Sorry, I, uh..."_

"Nevermind," Hermione sighed, "Are you okay? What's going on?"

Harry cleared his throat. _"I'm fine,"_ he said surely, _"everything's fine. You, uh, never called me and I actually meant to get back to you sooner, but I couldn't remember the time difference and then I had paperwork and…well, anyway your cats and your house are fine. Just a few broken windows and singed upholstery, but we patched everything up on the spot. Thought you'd like to know."_

Hermione rubbed sleepily at her scalp. "Uh huh," she yawned widely. Her eyes started to droop closed where she sat.

 _"I also sorted all of your mail,"_ Harry went on _, "I was thinking of sending it out to you, if that's okay."_

"'s nice," Hermione said dazedly, as she dozed off.

 _"Um…there's quite a bit of it. Is that Malfoy's owl that's shacked up with yours? Because I can have them both bring it all to you with my owl."_

Only a faint snore answered him.

 _"Uh…Hermione?"_

"Fuck off, Potter. We're sleeping," Draco growled. He batted at the phone slipping from Hermione's fingers. "How do you turn this blasted contraption off?"

The movement from Draco hitting her hand startled Hermione back awake.

"Wha-what's…oh! Harry?" she called out, pushing herself up higher in the bed to force herself to fully wake. "Harry, are you still there?"

 _"Yeah, I'm here."_

Draco muttered something rude-sounding under his breath and tugged his pillow over his face. Hermione frowned at him before turning her attention back to her mobile.

"I'm so sorry, Harry," she said. "What were you saying?"

 _"Maybe I should call back,"_ he offered. " _You sound really tired."_

"No, no. We needed to get up anyhow-"

"She lies!" came Draco's muffled yell from beneath the pillow.

 _"I didn't mean to ruin your morning,"_ Harry apologized.

"It's okay, it's just…we were up quite late," she yawned again.

Draco lifted the pillow slightly. "Does he want a play-by-play of our night!?" he asked obnoxiously.

Hermione smacked him in the ribs. "Don't be a prat," she hissed at him.

"Don't have Muggle sex, Potter! Condoms are a bitch!" he hollered at the phone. Hermione slugged him harder and he lowered the pillow back over his face with a huff.

"Harry, I'm so sorry," Hermione started.

 _"It's…it's fine,"_ Harry spoke up uncomfortably. _"Look…I really just rang to let you know that everything's being managed here and that I'm sending you your mail with your owls."_

 _"_ I appreciate that," she said sincerely, "more than I can say. Really. I can't thank you enough for all your help."

 _"Anything for you, you know that."_

Hermione smiled at the phone. "Yeah…I know. And anything for you."

There was another muttering sound from Draco that sounded suspiciously like 'Gryffindors' uttered in a derogatory fashion.

 _"Well. Uh…I guess I'll let you get back to enjoying your, uh…morning. I hope Australia's treating you well."_

"It is. Mum and Dad are great, we've settled in, made some plans. Things are good here."

 _"That's good,"_ he said and then paused sounding as if he were unsure whether to keep talking.

"Harry?"

He sighed through the line _. "Yeah, I… uh, there was one more thing I wanted to tell you."_

Hermione's brows furrowed and Draco pulled the pillow away from his head at Harry's suddenly serious tone.

"Okay…" Hermione said slowly.

 _"Well,"_ he said, sounding reluctant _, "I just...I just thought you should know that, um…well, Ron floo-called me today. He said he's coming here as soon as he and Gabs are packed."_

Draco pushed himself up to sit as Hermione tensed.

"Well," Hermione said, her voice cracking slightly, "it…it will be lovely for the two of you to spend some time together. It's been a while."

 _"He wants to see you."_

"What the hell for?" Draco snapped when Hermione looked queasy.

 _"Three guesses,"_ Harry snipped back. _"You know he still gets The Prophet over there, Hermione. He tried floo-calling you first, but you're obviously not home."_

Hermione rubbed at her forehead and sighed. "How was he?" she asked seriously.

 _"You mean how'd he take learning the news that you'd married Malfoy from a newspaper?"_ Harry asked disapprovingly. _"How do you think he was?"_

Hermione made a guilty face. "It's not like I kept it from him on purpose," she tried to explain. " _We_ didn't even-"

 _"Her-Hermione, hold on,"_ Harry interrupted. _"Someone's coming through the floo and…oh, shit."_

"What?" Hermione demanded, her brow furrowing. "Harry, what's the matter?"

Draco raised his own brows in question and Hermione gave him an anxious glance. She held a finger up to her lips at him to relay that he should remain silent as they both strained their ears to hear the new jumble of voices on the other end of the line.

"Harry?" she called out again when they heard only rustling.

 _"Hermione,"_ Harry's voice suddenly blared out of the phone, " _I'm gonna have to call you back in a –"_

 _"Is that her!?"_ another, new voice shouted from Harry's end. " _Give me the phone!"_

Hermione's eyes went wide as she stared at Draco. " _That's Ron,"_ she mouthed. Draco's expression darkened at that but he kept silent.

 _"No,"_ they heard Harry say followed by the sounds of a scuffle. _"Her…mione…I'll call you…lat-"_

 _"Give me the phone!"_ Ron demanded. _"Give me – aah! Ow. Ow! What the…aah! Aah! What the fuck!? No! Get it-"_

CLICK.

Hermione and Draco both stared wide-eyed at the suddenly silent phone.

"What the hell just happened?" Draco frowned.

"I'm not entirely sure," she said, setting the phone back on the nightstand. "It almost sounded as if something was attacking him."

Draco sniffed and shifted himself back down under the covers. "I hope something did. Though, I doubt I'm that lucky. Now, can we please get back to the spooning?"

Hermione looked down at him. "We really ought to get up. If we want to beat the queues at the public Apparition pavilion, we'll need to get there early. Unless, of course, you'd prefer to do something different today."

Draco flopped his arm over his face in a dramatic fashion. "No," he pouted. "I want to go to the bemusement place...I just don't want to get out of this fantastically comfortable bed."

Hermione smiled. "Amusement park."

He merely grunted in reply and she shook her head at him as she leaned over the side of the bed to snatch up his t-shirt from the floor. She quickly pulled it on and then let a troubled gaze linger over her phone again.

"Maybe we should go back," she said sounding uncertain. Draco moved his arm and peered up at her.

"Like hell," he said. "I vote we move here."

"You don't think we're being…do you worry that people might think we're afraid or ashamed or-"

Draco growled irritably as he rolled toward her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and then tugged her backwards as he rolled back. "Who cares what anyone else thinks?" he said as she allowed herself to lie back down with him. "Now, I'd appreciate ten more minutes of sleep with you, Mrs. Malfoy."

"I'm not 'Mrs. Malfoy' yet," she reminded him.

"In a year you will be," he replied, slipping his hand under his shirt that she was wearing to splay it against her abdomen. Hermione let her eyes close at the warmth of his touch.

"If all goes well," she sighed as his hand crept higher up her torso.

Draco hummed happily. "One year from now, if we both still want this," he recapped their discussion and decisions from the afternoon before, "then we have a proper wedding, you take my name, I reclaim my inheritance, and then…" He pressed his lips to her ear, "…I treat you like a fucking queen for the rest of your life."

Hermione smiled as Draco placed a line of kisses down the side of her neck. "I thought you wanted to sleep," she said.

"Mmm hmm," he replied, burying his face into her hair and then curling up on her.

They both began to drift off again when there was a knock at the door.

"Really?" Draco groaned beseechingly. "Ten more minutes was too much to ask?"

Hermione reluctantly extricated herself from Draco's hold and sat up. She snatched her wand from under her pillow and, with a quick flick, sent the clothes that were strewn about the floor sailing into a neat pile out of view.

There was another knock followed by Ellen's tentative voice. "Hermione, darling? Are you awake?" she called out gently, cracking the door open, but not far enough to look inside.

"Yes, mum," Hermione answered, stuffing her wand back out of sight. "It's okay, you may come in."

Ellen pushed the door open just far enough to peek her head in. "Sorry," she said when she saw that they were still in bed, "I just wanted to let you know that we're headed out for the day."

Hermione smiled. "Okay, I hope you have a good day."

"Should we expect you two for dinner tonight, or have you made plans?" her mother inquired.

"We probably won't be back in time for dinner," Hermione replied. "We're going to be in Coomera most of the day."

"Coomera?" Ellen asked in mild astonishment. "Travelling by magic then I assume?"

Hermione nodded. "Of course."

Ellen smiled at her and then Draco who had rolled over to feign sleeping again. "Well," she said, "Have fun. Be safe."

"We will," Hermione said. Ellen gave them a parting nod and then disappeared from beside the door as she pulled it shut.

"Is she gone?" Draco whispered.

Hermione tossed the blankets off of herself and swung her legs out of the bed. "Yes," she said, hopping up from the mattress.

Draco turned back over to face her and huffed. "Where do you think you're off to?"

"I'm going to shower," she announced, ruffling a hand through her knotted curls.

"But…I wanted you to keep sleeping with me," he sulked with a childish pout.

Hermione looked down at him as he turned puppy eyes up at her in what appeared to be an attempt to guilt her into climbing back into the bed. Her mouth twisted in amusement and she bent over. "You know that doesn't work on me," she whispered into his ear. She placed a kiss to his cheek and then straightened up. "Now, I'm going to shower," she repeated, smiling at Draco's petulant moue, "so you have two choices: stay here and sleep by yourself or…"

She turned and started sauntering toward the bathroom. "You can join me," she finished without looking back. Draco's frown rose into a devious smile in an instant.

"Oh, princess," he whispered lustfully to himself as he watched her go, "you had bet-"

The chirp of Hermione's mobile receiving a new text message interrupted him. He first frowned at the device and then, with a quick glance back at the doorway to see that Hermione wasn't looking, sat up and leaned over to see the screen.

It was another message from Harry.

 _Odin attacked Ron. Everythings fine. Call me later._

Draco leaned back as a smile blossomed across his face. "Maybe I am that lucky," he said, throwing the covers from his body. He looked down at his nakedness then around at the disheveled sheets. "Lucky me,'' he said again with glee and practically jumped out of the bed to jog after his wife.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Lucius idly pet the head of the large deerhound seated beside him as he stood and stared at his family tapestry.

"I doubt it has changed since this morning," Narcissa said gently as she came down the hall just behind him. The lines around his eyes tightened as he shifted his gaze back to the magically embroidered branches entwining the depictions of his son and accidental daughter-in-law.

"It hasn't," he said stiffly. The dog beside him nudged its long snout beneath his hand when his fingers momentarily stilled. Lucius looked affectionately down at the animal and with a final pat to his head, made a ticking sound to which the dog stood and turned about. He watched it trot away before turning back to the tapestry.

Narcissa stepped up to occupy the space the dog had just vacated and tilted her head at her husband. "Shall I have our tea brought here so you can continue your unceasing vigil over this musty arras?"

Lucius looked sideways at her. "I wonder, will you be as cheeky when their branch sprouts a new limb?"

"You need to stop this," Narcissa said seriously.

"If I could find him, I would," he answered at once.

Narcissa shook her head. "No," she clarified sternly, lifting a slender finger to his chin to turn his face to look at her, "you need to end this obsessing… this idea that you can simply change his desicion. What is done, is done. He's made his choice."

"She's poisoned his mind," Lucius replied, his grey eyes shadowed by exhaustion. "If only I could find him…"

"You have so little faith in his strength of mind?" Narcissa asked admonishingly, lowering her hand. " _Our_ son?"

Lucius shook his head. "It takes only one spell to sway even the strongest of wills."

Narcissa gave him a sad look. "He knows what he's doing."

"I don't believe it. He'd not willingly betray our bloodline like this," he said.

"Did not your own father consort with the Muggle Royal Family?" she challenged him.

Lucius made a look of distaste. "This is not the same."

Narcissa turned her focus to Hermione's picture upon the tapestry. "No," she agreed, "our son at least had the sense to fall in love with a witch. And a powerful one at that."

"A Mudblood," he sneered.

"One you will need to accept if you have any desire to hold a place in Draco's life," she advised sternly.

Lucius raised one sculpted brow at her. "You would so easily forsake our world?" he asked severely. "To have our House corrupted? You KNOW that I love him, but I'll not have it, Narcissa!"

Narcissa pointed harshly at the tapestry. "Draco is gone, Lucius! I cannot…" she stopped suddenly and shut her eyes as she placed a hand to her stomach. Lucius made a face that flitted between angry and guilty as he watched her breathe through her emotion, but said nothing.

"I cannot bear the thought of losing him again," she said after a moment, her voice low but steady. She opened her eyes to meet Lucius's. "You will welcome our son's wife into our -"

"I most cer-" Lucius began to object, but Narcissa continued right on.

"-family," she rose her voice to speak over him. "You WILL, Lucius, or so help me… you will find yourself lacking both heir AND wife."

He stared back at her in unreserved shock at the declaration. "You canno-" he started defensively.

"Do not forget the lengths to which I will go for my son," she cut him off threateningly. He set his jaw as he blinked at her and she held her chin high. "Now…if you're quite done here, I believe our tea is ready," she said and then turned to go, not bothering to wait for a response.

"She is a _Mudblood_ , Cissy!" Lucius called out to her, his voice wavering with a note of desperation.

Narcissa paused in her steps and looked over her shoulder at her husband. "You'll want to stop using that word," she advised flatly before turning away again.

Lucius watched her go until she disappeared around the corner and then glared back at the tapestry. His eyes lingered over the _'Sanctimonia Vincet Semper'_ embroidered at the top for several minutes.

"I _will_ return you to your rightful home," he said determinedly, shifting his gaze to his son's image. "I will correct this…if it's my final act in this life."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"I think I'm getting a migraine," Draco moaned, rubbing at his temples. He was bumped again from behind by the rambunctious child waiting with his harried mother behind them in the queue to the public Apparition points. "Why couldn't we just drive there?"

Hermione sighed as she readjusted her bag over her shoulder for the umpteenth time. "Because it would take us twenty hours to get there by car."

"It's going to take twenty hours to get through this godsforsaken queue," he grumbled.

"You'd better get used to standing in queues," she forewarned, "there are going to be loads of them where we're headed."

Draco made a whining moan and Hermione laughed.

"Always so dramatic," she teased him with a smile. "Look…we're moving."

Everyone ahead of them stepped forward and Draco grudgingly moved with them as yet another set of travelers collected into the designated Apparation areas in preparation to depart. "How is it you even know where all of the public magical amenities are in Australia?" he asked, allowing his curiosity to override his impatience.

Hermione looked at him like she'd been insulted. "You really believe I'd send my parents to a country without knowing EVERYTHING about it beforehand?"

Draco's brow instantly knitted together. "What do you mean 'send'?"

She gave an absentminded shrug as she tried to look around the people in front of them to gauge their continued wait time. "During the war," she answered, "I, uh…persuaded them to move here to minimize the risk of them being harmed."

"Persuaded?"

Hermione glanced back at him at the simultaneously admonishing and amused tone of his voice. "Not one of the topics you and my father covered, I take it?" she grinned.

"Can't say that it was, no," Draco replied, reaching out to snag her bag from her when it began slipping off her shoulder again.

"Are you ever going to tell me what you _did_ talk about?" she pried.

Draco pulled his wand and shrank the bag to wallet size. "Oh, look, that last batch had a dozen people leave together," he redirected, stowing his wand and then stuffing the tiny bag in the back pocket of his jeans. "That means we're almost up."

Hermione moved beside him when the queue shifted forward, but shook her head at him. "You think you're so clever," she said. He smirked as he watched the next set of groups Disapparate.

"No more than you," he replied out the side of his mouth as one of the wizards working the Apparition point finally waved them onto one of the departure platforms. Hermione smiled to herself when Draco grabbed her hand then and helped her step up.

"Apparition license," the worker requested with a nod to them.

"Mine's in my bag," Hermione whispered, nudging Draco. He quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out his own. He held up the small Ministry placard with his Apparition clearance and the worker nodded again approvingly.

"Destination?" he called out to them as Draco replaced his license into his jeans.

"Apparition point number one, Coomera," Hermione answered. She then readied herself beside Draco, slipping her arm through his as the worker checked his map.

"Point's all clear!" he shouted back over the sound of the couple on the next platform over leaving. "You may depart when ready."

Hermione glanced up at Draco. "You ready?"

He leaned down to plant a quick kiss and then nodded. "I'll follow you anywhere," he said. Hermione tightened her arm against his and then turned on the spot to whisk them away with a crack.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

.

A/N: Okay…so I started writing a chapter that precedes this one that describes Draco's adventure in learning about 'Muggle' sex. Thus his condom comment earlier in this chapter. I was going to include it, but it's shorter than a normal chapter and it's smutty and it felt like it cheapened the story to just add it to add it. So my solution will probably be to post it as a stand-alone ficlet if people are interested. Let me know.

As always, thank you for your continued support. 3


	23. Australia: An Amusement Park

Gabrielle Delacour set a steaming cup of ginger tea down on the kitchen table.

"Thank you," Ginny acknowledged, leaning forward with a hand over her rounded middle. She took the cup and, after the tiniest of sips, made a face and set it back down. "Still a bit warm."

"Oui," Gabrielle agreed, setting aside her own cuppa as she took the seat across from her not yet sister-in-law.

"Um…so, how's the weather in France?" Ginny asked after they'd sat through a minute of awkward silence.

Gabrielle gave a delicate shrug. "Eet ees lovely. Dry. Sunny."

"Must be nice," Ginny muttered with a side-eye out her kitchen window at the overcast sky. "I imagine Ron loves it?"

"He ees working most days," the blonde replied blandly.

The ticking of the kitchen clock echoed around the room in the silence that settled over them again. They each shifted in their seats, glancing from cooling cups of tea to the walls to the dreary scene beyond the windows before their eyes met again and they exchanged thin smiles.

"Zee uh…zee baby ees doing well?" Gabrielle finally asked politely with a nod to Ginny's belly.

"He's kicking the shit out of me," she answered with an exaggerated wince.

Gabrielle laughed at that. The muffled sound of men shouting interrupted her tinkling laughter. Ginny turned to look over her shoulder in the direction of the noise and sighed.

"He has no right to be this upset," she said with a shake of her head.

"He feels betrayed," Gabrielle said quietly. Ginny turned back to meet her gaze.

"None of us were particularly pleased with how we were informed, but you don't see me or Harry throwing tantrums," she said.

Gabrielle made her own sigh as she furrowed her brow toward the sound of Harry and Ron arguing. "Ronald ees very sensitive."

Ginny snorted and picked up her cup. "He needs to get over himself," she said before taking another small sip. She made a face again and set the tea down. "It's gone cold."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"This feels…ugh…why is this so greasy?" Draco complained as he scowled down at the white goop slathered over his palms.

Hermione smiled as she stepped up to him and began rubbing in the missed splotches of sunscreen on his face. "You won't even notice it once it's soaked in," she said.

Draco made a rude noise. "I think this will be a one-time experience," he said, scrunching his nose while Hermione rubbed his cheeks. "Suntime potions are far better than this. One sip and you're protected all day."

"I don't disagree," Hermione empathized, "however, as I've not got any potions at hand, this is the best we've got."

"Can't I just wear the hat?" he asked, wiping the remaining lotion in his hands over his forearms when Hermione stepped back again.

She opened the plastic carrier bag of items they'd already purchased from one of the park's shops, including the sunscreen, and reached in to pull out a baseball cap with the park's name embroidered on it. She handed it to him. "This won't protect your neck, arms, or legs," she reminded him as he took it.

Draco considered the hat in his hands a moment and then fit it to his head. "How do I look?"

Hermione discretely shrunk the bag and stowed it, then adjusted her sunglasses on her nose and squinted up at him as he tugged self-consciously at the cap's bill. "Like a Yank tourist," she said.

He smirked and then took a stance like a cowboy in a Western with one hand to his hip and the other to tip his hat. "Why, thank you ma'am," he said in an American drawl.

Hermione giggled at him. "You've been watching too many of my American films."

"One can never watch too many American films," he said, straightening to his normal posture and offering out his arm to her. Hermione laughed and tucked her arm through his in the relatively quiet siding they'd stopped in to ready themselves for their day in the park.

"Are you ready then?" she smiled encouragingly.

He shrugged. "Let's do this."

She simply nodded and then led him out into the walking throngs of other patrons. Draco clung closer to her side.

"Do not let go of me," he said seriously, his eyes darting anxiously at the multitude of Muggles surrounding them.

Hermione glanced sideways at him. "Why are you so nervous? You were around plenty of Muggles at that party and when we went shopping."

Draco shrunk against her side as he was bumped by a passing person. "There weren't nearly this many," he said. The sound of delighted and terrified screams suddenly filled the air as the car of a ride raced along somewhere nearby. "And even the party wasn't nearly as loud," he added with a grimace.

"Do you want to leave?" Hermione asked him sincerely. He shook his head.

"No…just…just don't let go of me."

"I've got you," she said reassuringly with a squeeze to his arm. He gave her a crooked smile in response and squeezed back. "So," Hermione went on cheerily, "what would you like to try first?"

Draco immediately looked over to the towering pillar of track that had caught his eye the moment they'd arrived at the park. Hermione followed his gaze and grimaced.

"That one?" she asked. "You're sure?"

"That one," he confirmed eagerly.

"Okay," she shrugged one shoulder, "if that's what you want to start with..."

Draco looked sideways at her as she tugged him in the direction of the correct path. "Should I not?"

"I just thought you might want to work your way up to that. That particular ride seems rather intense," she replied.

"Wait," Draco said, squinting suspiciously, "what do you mean 'seems' intense? Haven't you been on it before?"

Hermione shook her head. "Not...not exactly, no. I haven't been on any of the rides actually."

Draco halted them in their tracks causing several people behind them to crash into them.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Hermione blurted out to them as the Muggles grumbled and parted around them. Draco didn't bother acknowledging them as he stared at Hermione. She finally looked up at him.

"What?" she asked timidly.

"I thought you said you'd been here before," he said accusingly. "You said you came here with Weasley and Potter."

"We did come here," she asserted.

"Then how is it that you've never ridden anything here?"

Hermione shrugged again. "Ron and Harry went on everything together."

Draco's eyes began to narrow angrily until Hermione rushed on. "Before you get all huffy on my behalf, they didn't exclude me," she said. "In fact, they tried all day to convince me to join them, but I chose not to. I had plenty of fun as a spectator safely on the ground."

"I thought you said you weren't afraid of heights," Draco said, one brow ticking upward.

Hermione's stance became defensive. "I'm not."

"Then what's the problem?" he pressed. She relaxed her posture and turned a suddenly troubled expression to the ground. Draco lifted her chin with his hand. "What?"

Hermione took a deep breath. "I'm afraid I'll scream," she said.

Draco looked confused at that. "Isn't that the point of these rides?" he asked, glancing around at the other attractions. "They're supposed to thrill you to the point of screaming?"

"Thus, why I won't go on them," she said.

"I don't understand," he said.

Hermione slipped her arm back through his and restarted them on their short journey to the ride he'd chosen. "I didn't want to ruin their fun. And I don't want to ruin yours either."

"You're still not making sense, Hermione," Draco said with an edge of irritation. "Just tell me why you don't want to scre..."

The words died in his throat and his arm tensed over hers. She smiled sadly when it was apparent that he'd figured it out.

"My thrilled scream sounds the same as my pained scream," she explained anyway.

"I doubt that," Draco said quietly. He trained his eyes pensively on the track tower ahead of them as they walked. "But, I suppose we'll find out for sure soon enough."

Hermione looked over at him. "I really don't think that's a good -"

"You're going on this ride with me," he interrupted in a tone that left no room for argument.

Hermione didn't argue and simply bit her lip as she directed her gaze back up to the ride as well.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"What is it with this damn cat?" Ron Weasley glowered down at the little grey ball of fluff that was crouched a few feet away growling at him. "The orange one never did this."

"Crookshanks was only half kneazle. Odin is full kneazle; they're much more protective of their owners," Harry reminded him. Ron glanced up at his friend.

"I didn't do anything to Hermione," he said. He looked back at Odin. "I didn't do anything!" he snapped at the animal.

Odin arched his back and hissed and Ron rolled his eyes.

"You seemed a bit out of control when I was talking to her," Harry noted. "He probably thought you were going to yell at her."

"Well, he'd be right about that," Ron said. "What the hell was she thinking?"

Harry sighed from where he sat in his living room. "You lost any right to be mad when you broke it off with her, mate."

Ron frowned at him. "She's still my friend! And she's still yours too! How are you not upset about this?"

Harry started to shrug and Ron pushed himself up angrily from the sofa.

"How could she not even invite us? I mean, Gin made her maid-of-honor in your wedding. She couldn't return the bloody favor? Couldn't even TELL us!?" he gestured wildly with his hands.

"They didn't have a ceremony," Harry explained for the fifth time. "They used some sort of enchantment."

"Ohh..." Ron replied sarcastically, "so I suppose that makes it all hunky-dory. Let me just marry the ferret with a pretty little spell and to hell with my best friends!"

Harry puffed out an exhausted breath. "I'm sure she didn't do it to slight us. She must have had her reasons. Have you ever known Hermione to do anything without thinking it through?"

"Malfoy!?" Ron lamented loudly. "There is NO way she thought that shit through."

"They looked good together," Harry opined with another shrug.

Ron's face turned a darker shade of pink. "Looked goo - are you fucking with me?"

"It was jarring at first…but after you watch them together…he even calls her 'princess'."

"Fucking mental, this whole thing," Ron glowered.

"You're just pissed that it's Malfoy. If it were anyone else that she'd eloped with you wouldn't even be here," Harry said surely.

"No…It's not only because it's Malfoy," Ron insisted, running his hands through his hair. "I couldn't care less. I wouldn't care if she was humping Goyle."

Harry raised a disbelieving brow at that and Ron scowled lightly.

"I mean it," he went on. "Yeah, sure, I hate the fucker, but if Malfoy makes her happy, then fine, I'll learn to deal with the git. But I just…"

Ron plopped back down onto the sofa with a heavy puff. He shook his head, "I feel like I don't know her at all anymore. She doesn't write. She doesn't call. She doesn't tell us she's getting married… It's like we don't exist to her anymore."

"She speaks to me almost every day," Harry said. Ron glared at him.

"Only because you're here with her," he said.

Harry nodded. "Exactly."

Ron huffed as he leaned back. "What…so, now it's my fault because I moved?"

"Well," Harry asked, "do you write her? Do you ever just call _her_?"

"That's…that's just completely off the point!" Ron stuttered.

Harry shook his head lightly. "You left, Ron. You left her. Did you really expected her to keep in touch?"

Ron blinked back at him and then bent forward and put his head in his hands. "I don't know what I expected."

"She's moved on," Harry said after considering him for a moment. "Whatever her reasons, she's decided to marry Malfoy and if you're really as worried as you say about remaining friends with her, then I'd suggest NOT yelling at her the first time you speak to her in months."

Ron lowered his hands and turned a defeated look to the floor. "I miss her…" he whispered.

Harry nodded. "She missed you too."

Ron looked up at that. "She really happy with him?" he asked quietly with a sulky pout.

"She showed him how to have Muggle sex last night," Harry shrugged. "I'd say yes."

"Oh, come on!" Ron pulled a revolted face. "Really!? Did you just need to tell me that?"

Harry laughed. "If I have to live with the horrific scene that that idea's conjured in my head then you do too."

Ron slumped back again and shook his head. An amiable quiet fell between them then and they simply sat staring off at the walls. The soft murmur of women's voices drifted into the room from where Ginny and Gabrielle were in the kitchen.

"You know what this means, don't you?" Ron finally said.

Harry looked at him. "What?"

"He's going to be at all of our functions. Christmas. Parties…We're going to have to be _nice_ to him."

Harry looked a bit green at that realization. "I think I fancy a drink," he said, pushing up from his chair. "Firewhiskey alright with you?"

Ron smirked. "I don't know why it took you so long to offer."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"You weren't joking about the queues," Draco noted as he attempted to make himself comfortable against one of the hard railings flanking the queue path up to the ride. He quickly gave up and crossed his arms stiffly. "This is ridiculous."

"So you've said," Hermione frowned at him, "ten times."

"Well, it is," he snapped. "We're expected to wait an entire hour for a ride that lasts a minute?"

"It's more like a ten second ride," she said. Draco groaned and Hermione rubbed his back. "We all have to wait our turn."

Draco merely rolled his eyes.

"Here," Hermione said, reaching into her back pocket. She pulled out a park pamphlet and thrust it out at him. "Read this to keep yourself occupied."

He took it and cocked an eyebrow at her. "Is reading always your solution to everything?"

Hermione didn't bother answering that and focused her attention on the back of the person waiting in front of her. Draco pursed his lips and then scowled down at the paper in his hand. He gave it a quick once over and then stuffed it into his own pocket.

"You know what?" he announced suddenly. "I think I've had enough of this. Come on," he said, grabbing Hermione's hand.

Hermione looked at him in surprise. "What do you mean you – Draco! No!" she scolded him when he began to tug her along and pushed past the people waiting ahead of them. "Cutting will get us kicked out!"

Draco glanced back at her with a devious smirk. "Not today," he said. He smiled at a woman that was glaring at him and whispered, " _Confundus."_

The Muggle woman's angry expression softened at once and returned to one of boredom as she turned back to face front with seemingly no care about the fact that she'd just been shoved out of the way. Draco smiled widely in triumph and then pulled at Hermione as he began forcing his way through the queue.

"Draco!" Hermione hissed at him urgently. "Draco! Stop. We're going to get in trouble."

" _Confundus._ Pardon us. _Confundus. Confundus_ to you. And to you too. Sorry, coming through. _Confundus,"_ Draco continued on, ignoring Hermione's pleas. The other people parted and moved aside easily at his efforts.

"This is so wrong," Hermoine said uncomfortably, sidestepping around a heavyset man that was taking up most of the path's space.

Draco glanced back at her. "What do you mean? This is working splendidly. _Confundus._ If we stayed and waited back there we wouldn't have time to go on everything today. _Confundus._ I'm not letting you spend any more money on me, so coming back tomorrow is out. _Confundus._ Excuse us. _Confundus."_

"You certainly seem to have overcome your weariness of Muggle crowds in a hurry," Hermione observed, trying to keep up as he barreled through the waiting.

"Crowds in general," Draco corrected, " _Confundus_. And the faster we get through them the faster we get away from them. _Confundus_."

"I suppose," Hermione agreed.

"Now, this is interesting," Draco commented when they came to a part where the line led them onto a metal bridge that made it appear like they were over a city. "Is there a purpose to all of this, uh, dramatic imagery? _Confundus_."

"The décor is supposed to add to the whole effect of the ride. If we were actually moving through at the expected pace, it might mean more," Hermione chided him. Draco simply hummed and then kept on with his whispered Confundus Charms.

They finally reached a set of stairs and a park staff worker positioned at the top caught sight of them weaving their way past the other patrons toward him.

"Oi! What's this?" the man called out to them. "You can't jump ahead like that! Hey!"

Hermione hesitated, but Draco kept his grip tight on her hand as he trudged up the steps. " _Confundus_ , my good man," he said cheerfully. The man blinked stupidly for a second and then refocused his eyes on Draco and Hermione stopped before him.

"Were…were you two here a moment ago?" he asked uncertainly.

Draco smiled wide. "Yup. May we proceed?"

"Uh…" the worker checked his watch. "Uh…"

"We're supposed to wait here until the car is ready," Hermione whispered to Draco while the worker tried to remember what he was supposed to do.

"Yeah," the man said, overhearing her, "yeah…that."

Draco shrugged and finally let go of Hermione's hand to cross his arms. "So long as we're next," he said.

"You're next," the worker said.

"Oh, well, would you look at that," Draco said pleasantly down to Hermione at his side, "we're next. And we only had to wait…" He leaned over and eyed the worker's watch. "Three minutes."

"You shouldn't have done that," Hermione whispered reproachfully.

Draco bounced lightly on the balls of his feet. "Relax. We're not going to get in trouble. No one's going to remember us cutting."

"There might be other wizards and witches here," she said with a furtive glance around. "You can't just go casting charms against Muggles; you know better than that."

"I never used my wand," he hushed back to her. "And no one's the wiser. I didn't harm anyone and I didn't break the Statute of Secrecy. We're fine."

Hermione still looked uncomfortable but didn't have time to say anything more as the park worker began ushering them and a group of others behind them into a new queuing area that led to the ride's car.

"Whoa," Draco said in pleased awe as they stepped onto the loading platform.

Hermione lifted her sunglasses from her face and slid them up to rest on top of her head and looked around at the theatrically lit tunnel. "Oh, gods…"

Draco's eyes slid rapidly over everything in his line of vision. "This is going to be awesome."

"This was a terrible idea," she whimpered.

Draco snapped his attention to her and furrowed his brow at the sight of the blood draining from her face. "Don't be worried about screaming," he said with a squeeze to her hand, "it'll be fine."

Hermione inhaled a steadying breath as she nodded at his assertion and then allowed him to help her step into the rollercoaster car as the other park guests got in as well.

"You'll wanna take that off, mate," a friendly voice advised Draco the moment he settled himself into his rigid seat. He and Hermione both looked to their left to the man in the spot next to Draco. He smiled at them.

"I'm sorry, what?" Hermione asked him politely.

The man nodded to Draco's cap. "You keep that on when this starts and you won't be keepin' it, know what I mean?"

Draco immediately reached up and took off the hat. "Right," he said, tucking it securely into his belt, "uh, thank you."

"Ay, no worries," said the man. "Lost meself a hat on one of these once. Not a mistake ya make twice."

"Have you been on this before?" Hermione asked him, snagging her sunglasses off of her head as well to stow them.

The man grinned. "First timers?"

Draco and Hermione both nodded and he chuckled. "Get ready for the ride o' your lives," he said.

"Always looking for a good ride," Draco quipped. Hermione shook her head at him.

"Not at four and a half g's you're not," she said, gripping a hand anxiously to the safety bar that had lowered over their laps.

Draco raised his brow in question. "G's?"

"G-force," she replied, her breaths starting to quicken as a park worker made a final pass to ensure everyone was secured, "most people black out at 5." She closed her eyes tight.

Noticing her anxiety, Draco reached over and entwined their fingers again. "I've got you," he said with a squeeze. She opened her eyes and squeezed back and then reflexively tightened her hold when the lights in the tunnel suddenly went out to plunge them into total darkness.

"Draco?"

"I've got you," he repeated. "Don't worry. This is going to be – holy fuuuuuuck!" he shouted as the car abruptly accelerated to propel them rapidly down the track at full speed. His hand remained locked tight with Hermione's as she indeed screamed beside him.

They shot down the dark tunnel, bombarded with the near deafening, echoing sounds of shifting metal, screams and wind until the car exited with a WHOOSH into the light of day. The sudden, intense explosion of sun caused Hermione to open her eyes.

"HOLY SHIT!" she screamed at the sight of nothing but sky as the car travelled straight up the vertical tower.

"YES!" Draco screamed back. "WOOOO!"

The car sped on up the track until its forward momentum stalled out and, for half a second, remained suspended over a hundred meters in the air.

Draco yelled out an incoherent stream of whoops and expletives just before the car began to plummet them backwards down the tower. Hermione could only respond with another scream as they continued their freefall, both of their eyes slammed shut against the sudden, extreme g-force.

The car careened down the track back to the tunnel where it reentered and then gradually slowed as it connected with the opposing force of the magnetic braking system. Cheers and whoops erupted from the ride's passengers as they then coasted into the loading station and finally came to a complete stop.

Draco's chest heaved, a look of complete euphoria on his face as he glanced over at Hermione. Her hair was a complete mess of tangled tendrils and her eyes were still closed. He once more squeezed their linked hands and she turned her head and cracked open her lids to look at him.

"Are you alright?" he asked her. Hermione nodded as she breathed heavily.

"I ought to be asking you that," she panted with a small laugh. Draco laughed back and brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles.

"I've never been better," he grinned.

The safety bar covering their laps released, forcing them to let go of each other and they pushed up to stand on shaky legs and step out of the car as the other passengers did the same around them. Draco immediately regrasped Hermione's hand the moment they were back on the platform and they followed the giggling, jovial, adrenaline-hyper crowd out of the ride complex back into the bright sunlight of the park.

They walked briskly to a nearby building and stopped beside it.

"I can't believe I did that," Hermione said in quiet awe, a hand to her forehead. "I actually went on a rollercoaster…"

Draco simply stared at her, his eyes lingering over her insanely puffed-out hair and flushed complexion.

"Are there any crazy Muggle laws in Australia about kissing in public?" he asked.

Hermione's brow knitted in confusion at the non-sequitur. "Uh…not that I know of, wh - umpf!"

Her inquiry was cut short by Draco pulling her into himself and placing his mouth urgently over hers. Hermione returned the gesture at once, slipping her hands over his back as he tucked his into her wild hair.

They kissed feverishly, their bodies swaying, hands gripping, indulging in the pleasurable spike of adrenaline still coursing in their veins until they heard the loud sound of a throat being cleared.

They broke their lip lock and both looked up to see a park worker giving them an amused yet stern look.

"Sorry!" Hermione offered, slowly extracting her arms from around Draco's torso. Draco lowered his hands as well and smirked at the man who shook his head with a chuckle and walked off.

"Well, that was fun," Draco joked impishly.

Hermione took a step back to catch her breath. "I still can't believe I did that."

"It was incredible," he remarked.

"I'm sorry I screamed," she apologized.

Draco shook his head as reached up to futilely attempt to tuck several of her curls back behind her ears. "You were so very wrong about your screams sounding the same," he said. "It's not even close. That noise that just came out of you on that ride is one of the best things I've ever heard."

Hermione's lips turned up into a small smile. "Really?"

He nodded. "I rather think I'd like to hear it again…"

Hermione bit her lip and looked up at the impressive tower they'd just experienced and then back at him. "Shall we go again, then?" she asked, inclining her head in the direction of the ride's entrance.

Draco's mouth stretched into an enormous grin as his eyes sparkled deviously at her and he grabbed for her hand. "Ten galleons says I can get us through the queue in one minute!" he said gleefully and then took off running, Hermione sprinting to keep up beside him.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Where's Mum?" Ron asked, his tumbler of whiskey halfway to his mouth. "I thought she was staying over to help out."

Harry swirled his own drink and then pressed the cold glass against his forehead with a groan.

"She's out with Dad," Ginny answered when Harry didn't. "We convinced her that I'll be able to hold-off on popping while she's gone."

Ron hummed at that and took a swig.

"She's going to be mad that you didn't tell her you were coming," Ginny added. "You know she's going to want to cook you something."

A soft yet disgruntled sound came from Gabrielle seated beside Ron on the sofa. The other three all turned their attention to her and she scowled lightly.

"Your muzzer's food ees too heavy," Gabrielle said haughtily. "I cook much better."

Ron smirked and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. "Why do you think I fell in love with you?" he teased. She gave him a coy smile while Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Why do you sink Hermione fell een love with zat Malfoy?" Gabrielle asked Ron. He sat back and shrugged.

"Hell if I know," he said. "Harry?"

Harry absentmindedly rubbed a hand over Ginny's belly as he shook his head. "Beats me, mate. She said he's funny?"

"Funny looking, maybe," Ron jibed, sipping again from his glass.

"He ees handsome," Gabrielle disagreed with a light shrug. "Perhaps she ees liking him for zis."

Ron spluttered on his drink. "Handsome?"

"Or zat he ees rich?"

"No," Harry said surely. "Hermione's not like that."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Ron blurt out, setting down his tumbler and turning to face Gabrielle. " _Handsome?"_

"Et Hermione est tr _è_ s belle, non?" Gabrielle shrugged again. Ron simply blinked at her.

"I bet he's good at snogging," Ginny suggested casually only to grin wickedly at the way Harry coughed on his sip of whiskey.

"Probablement," Gabrielle agreed with an impish smile of her own.

"You two are sick," Harry said, wiping his chin. Ginny merely winked at him as Gabrielle giggled. Ron shook his head at all of them as he took up his drink again and sat back.

"When are they coming home, anyway," he asked.

Harry swallowed the new mouthful of drink he'd just taken. He cringed lightly at the whiskey's burn and then answered, "A week or so."

"We should give zem a party when zey come," Gabrielle suggested earnestly, "to celebrate zer marriage."

Harry gave a noncommittal hum at that but said nothing else and a short silence fell over the small group until Ron abruptly turned to Gabrielle again.

"You _really_ think Malfoy is handsome?" he asked her.

Gabrielle clucked her tongue and shook her head as she pushed a hand over his face. "Ne sois pas jaloux," she laughed.

.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A/N: If you're interested in seeing the ride Draco and Hermione went on, I'd recommend looking-up The Tower of Terror at Dreamworld, but note that the direction the car travelled on the track was reversed in 2010.

"Ne sois pas jaloux." = "Don't be jealous."


	24. Australia: Post

"I found a few more," Hermione announced, coming back into her parents' living room and presenting a stack of magazines.

Draco glanced up from the one he was already perusing from his place settled on the floor in front of the couch. "Thanks," he said, going back to reading, "I've almost finished with this one."

Hermione watched him flip through pages for a moment and then lowered herself to sit next to him. She set the magazines beside his outstretched legs and then took to watching him read again.

"I know I'm gorgeous," he said without looking up, "but it's rude to stare."

"I don't know when I'll ever get used to seeing you like this," she replied. He set down the magazine and turned a curious look to her.

"Seeing me like what?"

Hermione let her eyes roam over him as she answered. "Like this," she shrugged, "happy, comfortable, not sneering at me."

Draco smiled. "You'd rather I was cutting and sullen? Shall I start adding casual insults into our conversations to set you more at ease?"

"Don't be ridiculous," she said, giving his shoulder a playful shove before picking one of the magazines back up. "I love you like this."

"I love me like this too," he said, turning his attention back to his reading.

Hermione smiled as well as she idly flipped through the men's fashion magazine. "You'd look good in this," she commented, pausing on a page to point out a suit.

"Of course I would," he teased. He lowered his magazine again and frowned down at the small stack that Hermione had brought him. "Is that all you could find?" he asked disappointedly.

"You're lucky I found that many," she laughed. "Mum and Dad are very tidy people. They tend not to keep a lot of unnecessary things."

Draco reached down to hand through the pile. "Well, I suppose they'll have to do…"

Hermione closed her magazine and tossed it back onto the stack. "So, what else did you want to do today?"

"I'm doing it," he replied surely. "After the park the other day and that snork-a-thing yesterday, I'm ready for a nice, long day of loafing about, thank you."

"I thought you enjoyed the snorkeling…?"

Draco glanced up at her. "Oh, I did. The salt water up the nose was my favorite part."

Hermione chuckled. "I told you to keep the mask on."

"It was uncomfortable. Anyway, all I have to say is thank Merlin for bubble-head charms."

Hermione made an amused hum, and Draco went back to his magazine. He tossed it aside with a dissatisfied grunt and reached for another.

"I still don't understand why you insist on looking through these," Hermione said to him. "You have a complete Muggle wardrobe of designer clothing."

"I don't have anything overtly professional," he disagreed. "If I'm going to find work then I need to look the part and Gene has a great business style. It can't hurt to see where he gets his inspiration."

Hermione laughed. "If you're worried about appearing professional, the first thing you'll want to do is lose this," she said, reaching up to tug at the bill of the baseball cap he'd taken to wearing since their day at the amusement park.

Draco swatted her hand away and shielded the hat in an exaggerated manner with his arms. "What's wrong with wearing this?" he demanded to know. She laughed at him again as he lowered his arms to straighten the cap.

"If you wear that back home, the Muggles will think you're either a tourist or a social delinquent," she explained. Draco gave her a playful glare.

"I haven't been a delinquent in years," he said, snatching up a new magazine and opening it roughly.

Hermione rose up to sit on her knees. "Well, the Muggles won't know that will they?" she challenged him. He merely gave a hum and shrugged as he went on scanning the magazine and Hermione twisted her mouth in thought. "Did you give any consideration to the suggestion Dad made at dinner last night? About you possibly going to work for Uncle Mark?" she asked him seriously after a moment.

Draco's mouth thinned into a line as he thumbed the pages. "I did…"

When Hermione rose her brows and leaned toward him seeking a better answer, he sighed and set the magazine in his lap. "It was a good idea," he said, "a tempting idea even…"

" _But_ …?" Hermione prompted him at his hesitant tone. He shook his head and raised the magazine again.

"I'll find my own work."

It was Hermione's turn to frown. "Mark's track would be a perfect fit for you. Since you're set on attempting to secure Muggle employment, and have an affinity for automotives, this is really a quite fortuitous and advantageous opportunity."

"You're using big words again," Draco said in a taunting voice, his eyes set determinedly forward as he turned a page.

"Think about it," she went on, undeterred, "you'd be working with someone that we know and trust, someone that won't get upset if I come around often, someone who will pay you fairly and be enthusiastic about teaching you."

Draco didn't respond and Hermione readjusted herself on the floor to face him. "Draco, you _love_ cars," she said somewhat forcefully to try and drive the point home. "When the subject came up over dinner last night, you lit up like a Christmas tree and Mum had to pretend to spill her water to distract you and Dad long enough to derail you two from talking about cars all night! Why wouldn't you jump at an opportunity to go into a field you're actually passionate about?"

He finally looked up at her. "Honestly…? Because Mark scares the shit out of me."

Hermione blinked at him and then burst out laughing. "Of all the people you've met, _Mark_ scares you?"

"Yup," he said, refocusing once more on the mag and flipping another page.

"Just what exactly is so scary about him?"

"He's your father's best mate," Draco answered in a tone that suggested that explanation should have been obvious. Hermione shook her head with another laugh, but let it drop. She went back to watching him quietly and her eyes traveled back up to his hat.

"Why do you like wearing that so much?" she inquired curiously.

Draco shrugged. "I just do."

Hermione smiled and reached up without warning to snag it off his head.

"Hey!" Draco protested at once, flinging the magazine aside as Hermione skittered back out of his reach and placed the cap on her own head.

"How do I look?" she grinned at him, sitting back on her heels and posing with one hand to her hip.

"Delightfully Muggle," he said, moving himself into a crouching position. "Now, give it back."

Hermione shook her head and readjusted the cap more firmly over her hair.

Draco's eyes dilated. "You have precisely three seconds to give it back," he threatened. Hermione merely smirked mischievously at him and he chuckled low in his throat.

"Time's up!" he shouted before pouncing on her to pin her to the floor. Hermione shrieked mirthfully as she gripped her hands tight to the hat on her head while Draco proceeded to tickle her.

"Draco!" she laughed, thrashing beneath him.

"Give me the cap!" he ordered, smiling.

"Never!" Hermione yelled back as she shifted her leg up over his hip and then pushed to flip them.

"Oh, no you don't!" Draco said from under her, his face pulled into a gleeful expression. He gave her an extra hard tickle under her arms and she doubled in on herself over him. Draco took the opportunity to try and grab the hat, but Hermione surprised him by attacking his ribs with her fingers.

He barked out a laugh as she tickled him and he flipped them again to try and halt her assault. They rolled over one another then back and forth across the living room floor, laughing and shouting as they alternated between tickling each other and struggling over the hat. When Draco finally managed to snag it from her they rolled a final time and stopped. They stared at each other, both flushed and panting with wide smiles.

Draco's eyes moved affectionately over her frazzled hair and pink cheeks. Hermione peered up at him and brought her hand up to set her palm to his cheek. She pulled his face down and kissed him.

(((TAP TAP TAP)))

Hermione and Draco both startled and broke their kiss to look up at the sudden tapping noise.

"What was that?" Draco asked, pushing himself up to sit back on his heels. Hermione quickly sat up as well and pawed away the strands of her hair falling into her face.

"I don't know," she said just as the tapping sounded again. "It's coming from the kitchen."

She stood and jogged the short distance to the kitchen doorway and then groaned.

Draco got to his own feet. "What is it?"

Hermione let out a lamenting huff. "Owls," she said. "It seems our post has finally arrived."

Draco said nothing as he looked back at her, all evidence of their previous frivolity gone from his expression. He watched her go to the back patio doors and open them.

"How many owls?" he asked as he finally moved to join her in the kitchen.

"Four," she called out, stooping down to unstrap the bundle of letters from her barn owl's leg. "Hey, Hoo baby."

The bird nipped affectionately at her fingers. "Draco, get something for them to eat, would you?" Hermione requested, reaching over to undo the parcel carried between Draco's owl Artemis and another unfamiliar post owl.

Draco merely blinked down at the rather large amount of correspondence the four birds had delivered.

"Draco?" Hermione turned to look at him over her shoulder when he didn't move. He didn't respond other than to continue to scowl down at the pile of post. Hermione pursed her lips, her brow furrowing in concern, as she stood and quickly retrieved a small container of sausages from the refrigerator herself. She cast Draco another worried glance before crouching back down to feed each owl.

"Thank you, Buxton," she said, exchanging a bit of sausage for the letter held in Harry's owl's beak. The bird turned after it ate and was unburdened of its additional parcel on its legs. It flew off into one of the palm trees in the back garden. The other three owls followed it and Hermione got to her feet again to shut the patio doors.

"This is more than I expected," she said quietly, nudging the mound of scrolls and envelopes with her foot. Draco still kept silent, his eyes trained down as well, his knuckles white as they gripped his hat at his side.

Hermione sighed at his reaction but said nothing as she opened the letter from Harry she'd taken from his owl. She read it swiftly and then held it out to Draco. He shook his head without looking at it.

"I don't want to read any of this," he finally spoke.

"Harry says it's all safe," she replied, rereading the letter in her hand.

"Don't care. We should just burn it."

Hermione frowned. "We can't just burn it."

"Why not?"

"There might be something important in here."

"Doubtful. I'm not dealing with this shit," Draco stated tersely before putting his cap back on and starting to stalk away. Hermione scowled after him.

"Oh, yes, you are! You're not leaving me to sort this out," she called after him angrily. "Or is this what I can expect from you? When things get tough and you don't like it, you'll just leave?"

Draco stopped in his tracks. "Really, Hermione? I don't want to read a bunch of hateful letters and so you automatically think I'm leaving!?" he said, turning back slowly.

Hermione gaped at him. "I didn't mean-"

He pointed a finger at her. "I told you I was committed. I'm not leaving you. Not ever. So get that out of your pretty little head right fucking now."

"That is not what I meant!" she snapped back. "I don't want you just running and hiding when things happen that you don't like so I have to deal with it!"

"You shouldn't deal with this rubbish either! No good can come from reading this!"

"We don't know that!"

Draco sniffed. "No? This is just a pile of happy well-wishes then, I suppose?" He stomped back over to the mess and bent over to snatch up a handful of post. "Well, let's confirm it, shall we?" he said snidely.

Hermione stared at him wide eyed as he ripped an envelope open. He laughed obnoxiously. "Oh, you were right…such pretty words," he smiled sarcastically. "Look here…this lovely person suggests that I walk off a cliff. Cheerful. How about this one? Well…and I thought Weasley was creative with the profanities…"

"Draco…"

"Oh, now, this one is rather good," Draco went on, ignoring her and tearing open another scroll, "Ms. Sally Jenkins from Shrewsbury says, and this is addressed to you, princess… _'You'll want to be careful, my dear. Associating with the wrong sort, no matter how wealthy and alluring, can only serve to besmirch your honorable legacy.'_ I like that. We should have it embroidered on our new family tapestry. 'The Malfoy-Grangers – besmirching honorable legacies since 2004.' What do you think?"

Hermione stared at him. "I think you're being an arsehole," she said.

Draco chucked the parchments he was holding to the floor. " _I'm_ an arsehole. I tried to walk away from a situation that I knew would set me off and you fucking pushed it. And now _I'm_ the areshole. Brilliant."

"You're the one making such a spectacle," she snapped back. "It's _just_ letters."

"Just letters?" he said with exaggerated disbelief. "Just letters that detail what a piece of shit I am, you mean. Like I don't already know…"

"You're not-"

"Like the looks I get haven't already made it very clear? Because I don't see this damn thing every day," he spat, holding out his left arm to show off his Mark, "and don't already know I'll always be judged by it!?"

He wandlessly summoned another set of letters and brandished them at her. "So, now I have to read it too!? And get to see the look on your face when you read them and finally remember that I'm really not worth being with!? "

Hermione said nothing. She pursed her lips rather defiantly and then pivoted to walk away. Draco shook his head as he watched her cross the living room and then ascend the stairs. "And now _you're_ just going to leave!?" he hollered out as she disappeared into their bedroom. "That's rich, Hermione. Real fucking rich!"

He shook his head again and threw the letters in his hands back onto the floor and simply glared at them until he heard footsteps on the stairs again. He looked up to see Hermione stomping back toward him.

"You," she said with a glower at him, "you _are_ an arsehole."

Draco let out a spiteful laugh at her but stopped at once when she grabbed his hand and yanked it toward her. "What are you-" he started.

Hermione cut him off forcefully as she jammed a gold band over his left ring finger. "You are an arsehole," she repeated, "but you're also a good man and I love you and I have no intention of leaving either, no matter what Ms. Sally Jenkins has to say."

She pushed his hand back at him. "So there," she added forcefully.

Draco stared at her. His mouth opened and closed several times, but no sound came out and Hermione crossed her arms over her chest as she waited for him to say something.

"Where did you get this ring?" he finally managed to ask, his gaze returning to his hand.

Hermione's rigid stance sagged a touch and she gave a small, self-conscious shrug. "It…it was my grandfather's."

"Your…your grandfather's…" Draco said quietly, his eyes still on the smooth, polished band.

"My mum's father," she confirmed with a tiny nod. "I…I told her I wanted to give you a ring like you'd given me and she offered it to me and, well…there you are."

Draco blinked at his hand a moment more before shifting his eyes to the pile of post and then up to Hermione.

"I was sort of hoping for a rather more romantic setting for when I gave it to you," she went on, "but…

"So, why now?" Draco asked, his focus back on the ring.

Hermione watched as he touched reverently at the metal and then sighed and looked down at the mess of parchment and paper on her parents' floor. "If this is what we can expect to face" she began, "then we must trust in one another enough to face it _together._ This won't work if there's any doubt about the other's commitment."

She lifted her face to find Draco staring back at her. He looked for a moment as if he were going to speak but instead reached up to pull the bill of his cap to turn it backwards on his head. He stepped up to her, and, before she could react, placed his palms to the sides of her head and kissed her.

Hermione let her crossed arms fall to rest her hands on his hips as she gave in to the kiss. "You're worth being with," she whispered when Draco pulled back slightly to gaze down at her, his hands still on her face. "No amount of ignorant, self-righteous letters or looks will ever convince me otherwise."

She raised one hand and snapped her fingers to suddenly send every letter up in blue flames. Draco squinted into the bright light of the magical fire consuming only their post and then returned his attention to her with a look of complete adoration.

Hermione smiled back and set her lips to his again.

(((FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!)))

Draco laughed into her mouth as the security system began blaring.

.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

.

 **A/N: I'm back! Hi everyone! I missed you. Things got rough, life sucked, yada, yada... But I've not forgotten my stories nor your kindness and support while I was away. Thank you for continuing to read and review! Love to you all.**

 **Oh, yeah... and in case anyone missed it, I posted the bonus chapter detailing Draco's experience with Muggle sex, too. It's aptly titled: _Muggle Things Bonus Chapter._ Hehe. :)**


	25. Australia: Internet and MOs

"That's fantastic, Draco," Ellen praised from her seat beside him at her desk as she watched him type. "Now, just use the mouse again to select the correct website."

Draco's mouth pulled into a pleased smirk as he leaned forward and squinted at the computer monitor. "Like this?" he asked, his hand pushing tentatively at the mouse.

Ellen smiled widely. "Precisely!"

"Hermione, did you see me?" Draco called proudly, never looking away from the screen. "Can you see me using this computing thing? Look."

"Mm hmm," she answered, her face in the book she was reading beside her father on the couch. "Very nice."

"You're really doing very well," Ellen agreed, giving Draco an encouraging and approving nod as she watched him successfully navigate the site he'd clicked on. "You're catching on much faster than Gene ever has, I daresay."

Gene lowered the book he was reading just enough to look over it to catch his wife's teasing glance. "I prefer more tangible sources for my information gathering, thank you," he said, shaking his book lightly as an example.

"Nothing like a good book," Hermione sided with him. Ellen made an exaggerated, yet amused sigh.

"Those two and their books," she said, turning back to focus on Draco. He grinned as he clicked away at the mouse.

"Thou shalt not misarrange, mishandle, or in any way-" he began to recite Rule #6 from their list at home but was cut off by Ellen chiming in.

"-damage, misuse, or misplace the books," she finished his sentence with a laugh. She wrapped her arm around Draco's shoulders and gave him a motherly squeeze. "Once you begin quoting the Grangers' sacred book mantra, you know you're truly a member of the family."

Draco's expression slowly sobered as he stared at her after that statement and then glanced over to see both Hermione and Gene smiling at him proudly. He looked at them and then back at Ellen who gave his shoulder another, more affectionate squeeze as she set her other hand to his left forearm that was resting on the desk.

"I don't believe we've truly expressed it properly," she said to him in complete sincerity, "but we are all very happy and proud that you have become part of our family."

Draco glanced down to see her fingers resting gently over his Dark Mark and then swallowed hard as he appeared to hold back from looking lachrymose. But the moment was spared from becoming too sentimental when a loud, shrill beeping suddenly went off.

"Oh, for Heaven's sake," Ellen exclaimed. She removed her arm from Draco's shoulder and patted his forearm in a comforting manner when he looked startled at the noise. She unclipped a pager from her hip and then held it up for him to better see.

"Just my pager," she explained patiently as Draco narrowed his eyes curiously at the device. "It alerts me when I need to contact the office."

Draco's brows rose in interest as he watched Ellen squint at the text she'd received and groan.

"Bad news?" Gene inquired, lowering his book.

"It's the hospital line," she said. She swiftly rose from her chair and jogged away across the room and then up the stairs.

"Emergency surgery," Hermione said, setting her book aside.

"Definitely," Gene agreed with a small huff. He closed his book as well and pushed up from the couch to stand. He walked briskly to the kitchen.

"What does that mean, exactly… _surgery_?" Draco asked, swiveling in the task chair to face Hermione. "What does an oral surgeon do?"

Gene exchanged a quick, troubled glance over his shoulder at his daughter at the question, but then continued on his way out of the room. Hermione returned her attention to Draco.

"She performs procedures on peoples' mouths and jaws to fix them after an infection or injury," she explained as simply as she could. His brow furrowed.

"Procedures?" he asked hesitantly.

Hermine got up and went to the chair her mother had vacated and nodded to the computer. "Let's research 'oral surgery'."

Draco gave her a shifty look, but refocused on the computer and followed her instructions to begin learning about Ellen's profession. His eyes widened slightly as they opened links to pictures of people being subjected to various dental treatments and his curious expression shifted to one bordering on horrified.

"This looks like torture," he whispered out the side of his mouth at Hermione.

She gave a small grimace of agreement. "No Skele-Gro or spells for Muggles," she whispered back. "But they're numbed with chemicals beforehand, so there's less pain."

"Jesus," Draco said in quiet, disturbed awe when his eyes fell upon a rather graphic picture of an abdominal surgery that the internet search engine they were using had randomly produced with their inquiry. He moved the mouse to click on it and then sucked in a breath as he realized what he was looking at. "They…is this what all Muggle medicine is like?" he asked with a swallow.

Before Hermione could answer, Ellen came jogging back down the stairs with her hair pulled back and a bag slung over her shoulder.

"Emergency surgery," she said, confirming Hermione and Gene's assumption, while hurrying to the door to slip on her shoes. "A man took a bad bowl straight to the mouth in an amateur cricket game."

Gene came back into the room with a lunch box and he and Hermione both winced in sympathy at the unknown patient. Draco blinked at all of them.

"What's cricket?" he asked. They all spared him a brief look, but didn't answer as Ellen went on.

"The other team took offense, it seems, and a brawl broke out. There are at least two other patients with suspected maxillary fractures," she relayed. She gave them all an apologetic smile. "I'll probably be gone most of the night."

Gene went to her side and handed her the lunch box which she accepted with a grateful smile and a peck to his cheek. "Love you," he said to her.

"Love you too," she smiled back warmly before snagging her car keys from her bag and hastily blowing kisses to Hermione and Draco as she opened the front door. She slipped out and Gene closed the door behind her before turning to the other two.

"Well… I imagine the two of you will want to get ready, then," he said, going back to the couch and sitting down. He picked up his book and opened it. Hermione and Draco gave him matching perplexed expressions.

"Ready for what?" Hermione asked. Her father kept his eyes on his reading as he answered.

"To go out," he replied. "Surely you don't want to waste a perfectly good evening sitting around here when there's learning to be done. Go have fun."

Hermione started to shake her head and went to protest, but Gene shot her a stern look over his book. "Out," he ordered.

Hermione contemplated her father a moment and then turned to Draco beside her. "Anything in particular you want to try tonight?" she offered. "We could go to the cinema again. You enjoyed that the other evening. And there were several more sh - why are you looking like that?" she asked suspiciously when Draco's face took on a suddenly devious expression.

Draco eyed Gene a moment to find him still focused on his book and then leaned closer to Hermione.

"I want to go someplace where you can wear that dress," he whispered. Hermione's brow knitted in thought.

"What dress?" she whispered back. Draco grinned.

"You know which dress."

Hermione's eyes widened slightly. "I didn't bring _that_ dress," she said.

Draco's grin broadened. "I know…I did."

" _Draco…"_ she hissed back at him, giving her father a side-glance to make sure he wasn't listening. "You can't be serious."

"Oh, I'm serious."

"I told you, there's no place for me to where that dress."

"Then why do they make dresses like that if you can't wear them?" he challenged her.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "There are no places that _I_ can wear it. The only place that dress might be appropriate would be a night club, and we won't be going to one."

The second the words left her mouth, it was clear she wanted to stuff them back in when Draco's eyes lit up mischievously.

"Why not?" he inquired enthusiastically. "I've seen clubs in films and on the telly."

Hermione was already shaking her head. "Then you've seen how they're crowded and loud and mostly involve drinking and dancing. You wouldn't like it."

"I like dancing," he said.

"Okay, but you don't like the rest."

Draco shrugged. "If it means I get to see you in that dress again, I'll manage. And I'm getting better with the crowds. Take me," he nearly pleaded.

Hermione bit her lip. "You're really serious?"

He nodded and she let out a resigned sigh. "The things I do for you…" she said. He flashed her a victorious and eager smile as she took his hand and tugged him out of the chair and toward the stairs.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Well?"

Narcissa looked up from the small parchment in her hands and shook her head at her husband's inquiry.

"He didn't even read it," she said, placing the parchment gently to the side on her writing desk. "He burned it."

Lucius frowned down at the parchment with the post-tracking spell and steeled himself with a deep breath. "I'm going out," he said, gripping his cane and turning about. Narcissa reached out and set a hand to his robes before he could go and he stopped to look over his shoulder and arch a brow at her.

"Let it alone," she said firmly. "Let HIM alone. He'll come back when he's ready."

"You can do as you like," Lucius replied in a low almost threatening voice, "but until I see my son unharmed and uncorrupted with my own eyes, I will let _nothing_ alone."

"You'll only drive him away further," she cautioned him sternly. "For six years he has languished about this house with none but us and that Greengrass mistake for company and the moment he finally began showing an interest in returning to the outside world you pestered him and questioned him at every turn and look what happened."

"Apparently I didn't question him enough," Lucius muttered and Narcissa shook her head.

"You must learn to accept that our world has changed and-"

" _Our_ world has not changed!" he bellowed at her. Narcissa didn't bat an eye at his little explosion.

"It has," she said in a voice that Voldemort himself might've quelled at. She stood slowly, purposefully, and lifted her chin at her husband. "It HAS. This family has. Draco has. The sooner you come to terms with this, the sooner we can have our son back…our _family_ back."

Lucius stared at her, silent rage brewing behind his silver eyes. "If the Dark Lord didn't succeed in taking my family from me," he nearly spat, "I'll be damned if I let a mere meddling Mudblood do it."

With that he strode off, his footfalls hard on the ancient oak floors. Narcissa watched him go and then looked once more at the parchment on her desk with a heavy sigh.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Draco adjusted the silver dragon belt buckle at his waist as he exited the bathroom and headed to their bedroom. "Are you almost re-" he began to ask when he entered, but immediately found himself tongue-tied when he looked up to see Hermione standing at the dresser, bent slightly at the waist as she examined her make-up in a mirror. She was wearing the scandalously short dress they'd purchased on their shopping spree and a pair of glinting high heels. She glanced over to see him gaping at her.

"What's wrong?" she asked him, straightening and running her hands somewhat nervously over her sides. "Does it look okay?"

Draco looked her up and down several times. "I change my mind," he managed to get out, his mouth suddenly gone very dry, "I think I'd like to see you _out_ of that dress…preferably now."

Hermione shook her head at him. "Incorrigible," she said.

He gave her his most seductive smirk as he went to her. "Am I being too _crass_ again," he purred into her ear, leaning close. Hermione shivered lightly at the feel of his breath on her bare neck and shoulder and turned her face to him. Their noses nearly touched as she returned the smirk.

"I'd be worried if you weren't," she teased.

"Mmm," Draco gave an amused hum and then closed the tiny distance between their mouths and kissed her. Hermione responded at once, sucking in a deep breath through her nose and wrapping her arms around his back to pull his body against hers. The action earned her a pleased moan from Draco who promptly moved his hands to her waist and backed her up against the wall. His fingers gripped at her sides but quickly ventured down over her hips to her thighs as they gave in to the moment and the snogging intensified. He tried to slide his hands up under the hem of her dress only to feel that it wouldn't move.

He pulled back and looked down. "Really?" he chuckled. He brought his right hand up and hooked his index finger into her cleavage and tugged downward on the dress. It, again, resisted his efforts and stayed firmly in place and he cocked an eyebrow. "Sticking charms?"

Hermione looked down as well to the finger he still had between her breasts and made an impressed faced. "Oh, good, the charms work," she grinned.

" _Sticking_ charms," Draco repeated, taking a small step back when Hermione batted his hand away from her chest and then smoothed her hands over her dress again.

"Of course," she replied. "I wasn't about to have a repeat of what happened in the store. Especially in a place like a club."

Draco seemed to consider her words as he watched her move away from the wall to stand before the mirror again. "Now, explain to me how it is that you knew the name of a club here in Australia, in this town, right off the top of your head?"

Hermione dabbed at an eyelid. "I may or may not have been responsible for organizing Ginny's hen night," she said. Draco stared at her, waiting for more of an explanation.

"And…?"

She huffed at her reflection. " _And_ she insisted that I invite the entire roster of the Holyhead Harpies. They all, especially Gin, wanted a night just to have fun and not be bothered with their celebrity. So, I brought them all out here to the Muggle club where the chance of them being recognized was next to zero."

Draco blinked at her. "You…you went out with the Holyhead Harpies?"

"Yeah," Hermione shrugged as if it were nothing special. "I had to set them up in a hotel that night because they all got so drunk, but it was worth it to see Ginny so happy. They didn't even mind the lack of magic. They all had the time of their lives. I think one of them even ended up marrying one of the men she met that night…"

"You partied with the Harpies…" Draco said in a faraway voice.

Hermione looked at him and chuckled. "Jealous?"

"Yes," he admitted at once.

She merely laughed again as she went to the bed and picked up her wand and a small coin purse from the mattress. Draco watched her and his attention traveled down to her shoes.

"I told you it was unfortunate that you don't like heels," he said.

Hermione lifted a brow at him. "And why is that exactly?"

He tilted his head to admire her lower half. "Because they make your legs look fucking incredible."

A blush crept over Hermione's cheeks at that. "Yes, well…" she said, walking back to stand before him, "I still hate them, and don't get used to it, but…the occasion does call for them and, despite what seems to be popular belief, I'm not entirely without a sense of feminine vanity."

Draco grinned widely at her and took the coin purse she held out to him to place it in his back pocket. "I remember the Yule ball," he said as he took her wand from her as well and then bent to stow it at his ankle beside his own.

Hermione rolled her eyes but smiled and patted at her loose yet carefully arranged curls. " _That_ was an interesting night…"

"You wore heels then too," Draco recalled, still grinning as he righted himself, " _and_ went out with a Quidditch player as well."

"It would seem I have a modus operandi…" she teased back, stepping closer to set her hands on his chest and then give him a playful peck on the mouth, "… _Mr. Seeker_."

Draco popped his brows at her. "Caught you," he nodded. Hermione hummed happily and set him with another soft kiss before pulling back.

"Are you ready then?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Whenever you are, princess. How are we getting there, anyway?"

"Apparating," she answered, walking to the door. "When Gin and the girls were here, that's what we did. There's a safe point not far from the club."

Draco nodded in acceptance of that and then waited as Hermione opened the door and stepped into the hall.

"Dad…" she called out, looking over the stair railing at him below. "Draco and I are about to Disapparate out, so you may hear a cracking noise."

Gene looked up from where he was still reading on the couch. His eyes widened slightly and then narrowed at the dress his daughter was wearing, but he kept a neutral expression as he set his book in his lap.

"Thank you for the warning, pumpkin. Where are you two off to, then?" he inquired casually.

"The club that I took Ginny to," Hermione answered.

Gene nodded and reopened his book. "Well, have a good time. Be safe."

"We will. Love you!" Hermione hollered over her shoulder as she retreated back into the bedroom to Draco's side.

"Love you too," they heard Gene reply just before Hermione wrapped her arms around Draco's waist and, after a nod from him that he was ready, turned on the spot.

.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A/N: Hello, everyone! Sorry this was another short chapter...but I'm almost done with the next one and the one after that is already done. This was supposed to be one chapter that turned into three! Things will be picking up too, I promise, and there will probably be only three more chapters until our lovely couple returns home to face their friends and family. Dun, dun, dun! ;) And thanks for keeping up the comments and reviews! Your words mean SO MUCH. Love!


	26. Clubbing with Molly: Part 1

**Chapter content advisory: Drugging without consent.**

 **.**

* * *

"You need to stop doing that," Hermione hissed at Draco as they moved past the confused looking bouncer at the entrance to the club.

Draco shook his head. "I was not about to wait in that queue to get in. It was half mile long!"

"You can't just keep _Confunding_ Muggles every time you don't want to wait," she scolded. But Draco was no longer listening. He was stopped in his tracks, staring with his mouth agape at the action beyond a set of glass doors that still separated them from the main interior of the club. Hermione looked at him and twisted her mouth in concern.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" she asked sincerely but loudly over the muffled yet still prominent thumping bass that was filtering through the doors.

Draco scanned the scene, blinking at the pulsating laser lights and gyrating, grinding mass of beautiful people on the dance floor. "Whoa…" he breathed out.

Hermione glanced at the commotion inside and then back at him. "Maybe we shou-" she started to speak but was stopped by the sound of the door behind them opening to admit several more patrons. Draco and Hermione both turned to see a group of women come in and bypass them -as if they weren't there—and go to the interior doors. When they opened them, an intense blast of sound exploded through and Draco backed away into a wall.

The women went into the club and the doors shut behind them to block most of the noise again and Hermione went to Draco's side. "Having second thoughts?" she asked.

Draco tore his attention from the action inside and looked at her with wide eyes. "Do you know how to dance like that?"

"I'm not particularly exceptional at it, but I think I did well enough last time," she shrugged. "And it's not exactly difficult. It's basically just a bit of hip popping and arm wavi- ooh!"

Her explanation was cut short by Draco grabbing her by the hand and yanking her toward the entrance. "I'm ready to learn!" he shouted as he opened the door and they were hit with another blast of sound.

Hermione laughed as she followed him in. "Slow down! I can't walk this fast in these shoes! And you don't even know where you're going!"

Draco simply kept leading her, taking them around the less crowded perimeter of the main floor until he suddenly halted so fast that Hermione nearly ran into him and had to put her free hand on his back to steady herself.

"What are you doing!?" she shouted to him over the loud music. Draco was gawking at a woman that was dancing provocatively atop a raised platform in the middle of the dance floor. He pointed at her.

"Is…is she wearing only knickers!?" he asked in obvious fascination. Hermione looked to the woman in question and nodded.

"That's what it looks like, yes!"

They stood there then, and simply looked around.

"Well!?" Hermione nudged him after a minute. "What do you want to do now!?"

Draco continued to gaze about in awe. "Everything!"

Hermione smiled and pointed to a row of booths along the wall. "I see an empty table! Do you want to sit!? Or do you want to get a drink first!?" She pointed then across the club to a bar. Draco squinted at each option and then shook his head and pointed to the animated mass of people before them.

"I want to do that!"

He focused his attention onto several couples dancing at the edge and studied the ways they were moving. Hermione watched him scrutinize every movement and then smiled again when Draco started to bounce in place and mimic what he was seeing. When he tried rolling his hips, she chuckled and stepped before him.

"You're going to hurt yourself!" she said.

Draco shook his head. "You said this wasn't difficult!"

"Here!" she instructed, placing her hands on his waist. "Like this!"

Draco grinned widely down at her as he allowed her to push at his body to guide his movements. When he got the hang of the general move, Hermione grabbed his hands and placed them on her hips. "Now, with me!" she shouted as she began to roll her lower half in time with the beat of the music.

Draco's brows rose at the sight of her moving so erotically. "Where did you learn this!?" he hollered at her, pulling her closer. She bit her lip in a coquettish grin and ground against him.

"Gryffindor common room!" she replied. "We all used to do this every weekend!"

Draco stopped dancing and gaped at her. "Really…!?"

Hermione burst out laughing as she shook her head. "No!"

Draco gave her a playful glare. "You think you're funny, do ya!?" he inquired.

She merely continued to laugh and then twisted herself around in his hold so her back was to his chest. She pressed her backside to him and rolled her hips again. Draco responded at once and slid his hands around her body to splay across her stomach as he proceeded to grind on her. He lowered his mouth to her ear as they found a rhythm and moved together.

"How am I doing?" he asked roguishly. Hermione smiled over her shoulder at him.

"Splendidly!"

They danced that way for a few minutes until Draco inclined his head toward the main floor. "Shall we, then?"

Hermione twisted herself in his hold to face him again. She gave him a peck on the cheek and then nodded. "But I need to pee first!"

Draco frowned when she stopped dancing, but followed after her when she grabbed his hand and lead him toward a hallway. "You can't hold it!?" he called out to her.

Hermione chuckled. "It will only take a moment!" she hollered back as they came to the entrance of the women's bathroom. She squinted up and down the dark hallway and then lightly pushed him to stand up against the wall opposite the door.

"Stand right here and don't move!" she commanded him. "I'll be right back!"

"The last time I went out with a woman and we got separated for a toilet break, she went off to cheat on me with a Muggle!" Draco replied. Hermine set her palm affectionately to his cheek.

"I'm just using the toilet! I promise! I'll be right back! And then we can dance as long as you like," she assured.

Draco took a deep breath but nodded and then watched as Hermione disappeared into the bathroom. He stood awkwardly in the hallway and rubbed anxiously at his scalp.

"Killer tat!"

Draco jumped nearly a foot at the sudden exclamation and turned to see a woman smiling at him.

"Aww, I scared him!" the woman said, looking over her shoulder at several other women behind her that were apparently her friends. "That's so cute!" She looked back at Draco. "You're so cute! You should hang with us!"

Draco simply stared at her.

"And I said I like your tat!" the woman repeated. Draco looked around to make sure she was actually addressing him and then cocked a brow at her.

"What!?" he shouted.

She pointed at his exposed Dark Mark. "That's a killer tattoo!"

Draco glanced down at his arm and then back up at her. "You have no idea," he replied. She tilted her head at him like a dog trying to understand words.

"Wha'?" she looked back at her girlfriends. "What did he say!?"

The others all shrugged and she returned her focus to Draco and smiled to show off a set of big, perfectly white teeth that glowed slightly with the theatrical black lights reflecting from the main floor. "We're visiting from the U.S.!" she hollered at him over the blaring intro of a new song the DJ was mixing. She obviously eyed his designer shirt and shoes. "And you look like _just_ the right tour guide to show us around!"

Draco shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't help you!"

"Oh, my gaawd!" the woman squealed, hanging herself on Draco's arm. "I looove your accent! Australian accents are so sexy!"

Draco cleared his throat awkwardly as he tried to pull away and looked between her and her giggling friends. "I, uh…I'm English actually!"

That clarification only set the girls into another fit of tittering.

" _English_ ," the woman on his arm nearly swooned. She gave her friends a sly look and reached into her cleavage. Draco's eyes widened comically as he watched her extract a small case from between her breasts. She let go of Draco completely to open the case and took what looked to be two small pills from within it.

"You should come party with us!" she said, offering one of the tiny blue circles to him. Draco shook his head.

"I, uh…I'm not…you see I'm actually here with my wi-" he tried to decline.

"You need to ditch whoever you came with!" she interrupted him rather forcefully, "we are much more fun! _Guaranteed_!" The others all laughed and batted their eyes again as the woman made a show of putting one of the blue tablets on her tongue. She closed her mouth with a hum and smiled.

"Your turn!" one of the friends said and the woman nodded in agreement, holding the other tablet up on the tip of her index finger to his lips.

"Trust me," she simpered obnoxiously, "we'll give you the time of your life!"

Draco swallowed hard. "I don't even know you!"

She grinned widely. "You can just call me _Molly!"_

She boldly pushed her finger and the pill with it into his mouth. Draco tried to recoil at once to spit it out, but the woman put her hand completely over his mouth and he froze to stare at her in complete shock.

"Just what do you think you're doing!?"

The group all looked over at once to see a livid Hermione. She marched right over and swatted the woman's hand away from Draco's face. The woman gasped in surprise and then scowled as she went on the offensive.

"Beat it, bitch!" she spat at Hermione. "He's with us!"

Hermione reached over and grabbed Draco's left hand to hold it up and display his wedding ring. "Actually, he's with _me_!" she sneered right back. The woman glowered at the gold band.

"What a waste," she said with a disgruntled pout before she slunk away in defeat with her entourage in tow. Hermione glared after them and then nearly chucked Draco's hand back at him as she faced him.

"What in the hell!?" she snapped. Draco frowned at her.

"They practically attacked me!" he said defensively. "It's about time you came back!"

"I was away for thirty seconds and yo – why are you smacking your mouth like that!?" Her expression went from angry to worried in an instant when Draco spit out his tongue and wiped his hand over it.

"That Yank tart put something in my mouth!" he said with a grimace. "Tasted bloody awful! Like a dirty Sickle! Ack… I swallowed it!"

Hermione suddenly looked panicked. "She what!? Draco, what was it!?"

He shrugged. "How the hell am I supposed to know!? She put some sort of tablet in her mouth and then said it was my turn! It was small, round and blue! Looked almost like a mint!"

"She gave you ecstasy!?" she nearly exploded. Draco looked at her like she was insane.

"Absolutely not! She was bloody awful!"

Hermione blinked at his response and then, in spite of the situation, smiled at his innocent obliviousness. She went to say something more and then cringed at the intense volume of the music behind them. She quickly cast her eyes about for a quieter space and then grabbed Draco's hand.

"Come on!" she ordered, tugging him farther down the hall toward an emergency exit. He followed dutifully as she led him to a rather secluded hollow in the wall near the exit that housed another door that looked like it led to a storage room. Hermione threw up a hasty, wandless silencing spell and then backed him up against the wall there and put her hands on his cheeks to hold his head still.

"Do you feel okay?" she asked, inspecting his eyes carefully.

Draco held perfectly still as she examined him. "What's going to happen?" he inquired anxiously. "What did she give me?"

Hermione frowned as she lowered her hands from his face. "I think she gave you ecstasy, otherwise known by the abbreviation MDMA. It's a Muggle drug. People take it to get high. It's almost like the Euphoria Elixir you'd find back home except much more potent."

Draco scowled slightly. "Muggle drugs? Those…those are bad, right?"

Hermione shrugged. "They can be…"

He spit out his tongue and rubbed at it again. "What do we do?"

"We wait and see how it affects you, I suppose...Wizards and Muggles don't always react in the same ways with this kind of thing," she answered with another shrug.

Draco didn't look quite satisfied by that response. "Can it hurt me?"

Hermione twisted her mouth as she considered him a moment. "I think as long as we keep you hydrated and you don't consume any alcohol, you'll be okay. If I had to wager, I'd say it's more likely that you're about to start feeling very good very soon."

Draco looked back after the group of women that had accosted him and frowned. "I was already feeling good until this…"

"Maybe we should just go back home," Hermione sighed. "We can monitor you more closely there and then come back tomorrow ni-"

Draco snapped his attention back to her and shook his head. "No! I finally got you out in this dress and I'll be damned if I let some crazy cunt ruin our night!"

Hermione still seemed unsure. "I've never taken Muggle drugs before, Draco. This isn't something I can accurately teach you without more research."

"Then don't," he said. "Let's just go and pretend like it didn't happen."

When she went to open her mouth to protest, he gave her pleading look. "I promise, if I start to feel strange, I'll tell you at once, and we can leave," he said.

Hermione searched his gaze and then sighed. "Alright," came her somewhat reluctant response. "But if you begin to feel ill, even in the slightest…"

Draco held his hand over his heart in solemnity. "I'll tell you," he promised again. He lowered his hand and nodded in the direction of the dancefloor. "Now, will you please get that beautiful arse of yours out there so I can show off my new skills?"

A smile found its way back onto Hermione's face and she hooked a finger onto his belt. "You do have some impressive moves, I must admit," she said, tugging lightly at the belt to jiggle his waist. But her expression went serious once more. "Are you _sure_ you're comfortable staying?"

Draco took her hand and lifted it to his lips to kiss it. "You said I'll probably be fine. I trust your judgement. Now, let's go party with some Muggles!"

Hermione put a hand to his cheek and then kissed him. "Ok," she said, pulling back. "Let's do this then."

Draco squeezed her hand and grinned ear to ear before taking off down the hall with a laughing Hermione jogging precariously on her heels just behind him.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Ellen slumped against the door after letting herself in and gave an exhausted sigh. "Remind me why I chose to become a surgeon," she huffed.

Gene chuckled from where he was seated in an armchair and lowered his book. "Because you wanted to make more money than me," he said. A grin crept over Ellen's face.

"That's right," she affirmed with a tired nod as she toed off her shoes and set aside her bag.

"Difficult cases?" Gene inquired with sincere concern. Ellen shook her head. She came into the house and stopped at the base of the stairs.

"No," she answered, "the surgeries were successful. One will need a few more, but overall prognosis is good."

"Good," he nodded back. He went back to reading and Ellen looked about.

"Are Hermione and Draco asleep?" she asked.

Gene kept his eyes on his book as he answered her. "They went out to a club."

Ellen stared at him a moment and then smiled again, fondness shining in her eyes. "Don't wait up too late for them," she said, starting up the stairs.

"I'm not waiting up," he said in an almost petulant manner. "I simply can't sleep."

"Whatever you say, dear," she replied with a knowing lilt. "I'm off to bed."

Gene made a quiet grunting sound behind his book. "Good night," he said shortly. Ellen continued to smile as she climbed the steps while shaking her head.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Am I glowing!?"

Hermione turned around in Draco's hold to look at him as they danced. "NO!" she answered him.

Draco lifted a hand from her waist and flexed it in the air. "I feel like I'm glowing!" he announced, never halting his bouncing. "And, holy shit, the air tastes good!"

"I think the drugs are working!" she laughed, slowing her movements to squint at him more studiously through the flashing lights. She put a hand to his chin and tugged his face even with hers and cringed at the sight of his severely dilated pupils. "You look creepy!" she informed him. "Your eyes are almost all black!"

He kept dancing. "And your eyes are like...brown. Like the most fucking brown ever! How are your eyes so brown!? This is insane!" He pulled his head from her grip and roamed his gaze over her hair and grinned like a mad man before patting his hand to her head like she were a poodle. "Holy fucking shit! Have you felt your hair!?"

Hermione grabbed at his hand as he tried to thread his fingers into her curls. "I feel it every day, yes!"

"It's amazing!" Draco declared merrily. He suddenly took on a look of revelation. "Does mine feel good too!?" He brought both hands up to his head and rubbed them across his scalp. He let out a shuddering moan and rubbed harder. "Fucking hell! My hair is like…it feels like…whoa!"

Hermione couldn't help but laugh again at his reactions. "It feels good, I take it!?"

Draco smiled up at the high, raftered ceiling and nodded as he set his hands back to her midsection and pulled her close again. "I feel…I bet I could cast a Patronus right now that would fill this building!" He lifted one hand again and pointed his finger skyward. _"Expecto pa-!"_ he started to yell. A silvery blue flare actually erupted from his fingertip and Hermione immediately snatched his hand down, and slapped him hard in the chest.

"Oh, my god! Draco!" she scolded despite her awe at what he'd just done. "You almost cast!"

"That was awesome!" he laughed in delight.

Hermione pushed away from him and gave him the sternest of stares. "If you can't control yourself then we need to leave!"

Draco held up his hands in supplication. "I'm good! I'm good!"

She gave him a speculative look and he laughed again. "I'm good!" he repeated. "No magic! I promise!"

"Are you sure you're okay!?"

He smiled so wide that all of his teeth showed and he reached out to her. He gripped her by the hips and danced the two steps between them to pull her flush against his body. He began to roll and grind and she let a smile settle back over her face as she followed his lead. Their bodies moved together, dipping and bouncing and rolling with the beat of the music, and Draco's fingers skimmed down to cup her backside. She bit her lip at him at that and he lowered his face to hers.

"I've never felt better," he said just before setting his mouth to hers. She responded at once, pressing herself even further into him and they continued to grind as they kissed deeply in the middle of the dancefloor. After a solid two minutes, Hermione tried to pull back, but Draco held on. She chuckled into his mouth as she let him keep going. Another minute later, Draco finally released their lip lock and set a euphoric gaze upon her. "Holy fuck."

"Still okay!?" Hermione confirmed. He nodded and turned her in his hold so that her bum nestled against his crotch. He wrapped one arm around her waist and resumed rolling his lower half.

"I love this!" he declared enthusiastically. Hermione laughed again and let herself relax and just dance again. As they moved with the others around them in the flashing lights and blaring music, Draco looked around and spotted a man beside them with a drink in his hand.

The man glanced over to see Draco looking at him and smiled as he held out the beverage toward him. Draco looked once at Hermione -who had her eyes closed as she danced- and then back at the friendly man. He reached out and took the offered drink. When the man nodded encouragingly, Draco grinned at the glass in his hand and then tipped his head back and drank. When he swallowed the last of its contents, he handed it back to the man who laughed loudly and resumed his own dancing with the woman in front of him.

Draco smacked his lips positively at the taste of whatever it was he'd consumed and cast his eager eyes about for another as he kept dancing.

.

* * *

 **A/N: Ok…so those girls at the club…based off people I really met once. They were outrageous and horrible, but luckily not the norm! Most people I met in my clubbing days were friendly and respectful. Just thought I'd mention that.**

 **Thank you so much for continuing to read and show your support!**


	27. Clubbing with Molly: Part 2

.

"You need to drink water!" Hermione shouted at Draco, trying to drag him off of the dance floor. He resisted, keeping his hands firmly on her waist as he continued to roll his hips against her in time with the music.

"Dance with me!" he hollered over the booming bass. She rolled her eyes.

"We've _been_ dancing! You need water!" She turned in his hold and tugged at his right arm. "Come on!"

He still refused to leave the pulsating throng of Muggles as he tossed his head to fling his sweat-soaked hair off his forehead. "I'm good!"

"Draco!"

"I've been drinking plenty of fluids!" he informed her. He removed a hand from her to snag a blue cocktail from another club goer that was passing. "See!? Staying hydrated!"

He brought the drink to his mouth, gulped it down and then sighed appreciatively at the burn of the alcohol before whooping loudly. "I fucking love Muggles!"

Hermione's mouth fell open at his antics. "Draco!"

"What!?" he laughed.

She pointed to his hand. "You took that woman's drink!" she shouted reproachfully.

He never stopped dancing as he looked down at her. "No! She was giving it to me!"

"She was not! You stole that drink!"

"I've been getting drinks this way all night!" he shouted back. He pushed the empty glass at another random person who took it with a look of confusion and then turned his attention back to Hermione. "See!"

"You what!? I said no alcohol!" she yelled at him. "And you have no idea what you've been consuming! Draco! That is so dangerous!"

He wasn't listening and instead had tilted his head toward one of the club's flashing light fixtures as he admired it. "This place is awesome!"

Hermione shook her head and then forcefully removed his fingers from her waist and fisted the front of his soaking wet shirt in her hands. She pulled him hard to remove him from the fray and he finally followed her clumsily over to a free space near the bar.

"Water, please!" Hermione shouted at the barman and then shoved a still bouncing Draco onto a stool.

He laughed and banged a hand obnoxiously on the bar. "And another one of those blue concoctions!" he called out. Hermione glared at the barman in warning not to fulfill the latter order and then rounded on Draco.

"How many 'free' drinks have you had!?" she demanded to know. He shrugged as he blinked wonkily at her.

"A couple? Maybe five…six…no…eight? Yeah, yeah…ten…no, wait, uh…"

Hermione rubbed anxiously at her forehead. "Oh, my god…" she whimpered in concern as she finally noticed how far gone he was. "I told you not to drink with those drugs in your system."

He just laughed again and grabbed the water the barman had pushed toward him. He drank it rather greedily and then slammed the empty glass on the bar. "Let's go dance!"

Hermione watched him hop down from the stool and then stumble into another man. The man helped to steady Draco on his feet and Draco grinned stupidly at him.

"Thanks, mate!" he shouted jovially, slapping him on the back as if they were old friends. The man met Hermione's eye and gently shoved Draco back in her direction.

"You should probably take him home!" he suggested with a chuckle. "This one's off his face!"

Hermione's cheeks flushed with embarrassment but nodded in agreement before pushing her weight into Draco's back to force him toward the exit.

Draco laughed as she shunted him along. "What are you doing!? I wanna dance!"

Hermione grunted impatiently. "We're going home. You're going to crash soon and you're not going to like it."

"Nonsense!" he disagreed enthusiastically, spinning about and wrapping his arms around Hermione's waist again. "I've never felt so good in my entire fucking life!" He tried to start dancing with her again and she grabbed his face in her hands with a huff to force him to look in her eyes.

"If you don't go out that door right now," she threatened with a nod to the exit, "I swear on my magic I will throw out the television!"

Draco's eyes widened slightly. "You wouldn't!?"

Hermione gave him a hard stare. "Oh, I would."

"Kill joy!" he lamented dramatically, though he was still smiling like a loon. He allowed her to guide him outside then and she hustled him through the throng of other club goers mingling on the pavement. She pushed him up against a lamp post.

"Wait here, while I try to find us a taxi," she ordered. She took one step away and then stopped. "On second thought…" She went back and grabbed his hand to tug him with her. "You are not leaving my sight."

Draco waggled his brows as he bounced along beside her. "Because I'm so sexy?"

She didn't bother responding to that and simply continued to yank him along. "Why are there no taxis!?" she growled in frustration at the edge of the road.

"Let's just Apparate!" he shouted. Several people near them gave them shifty looks and Hermione frowned at him.

"You'd Splinch us both," she hissed at him in undertone. "Now, shut up and come along…"

"You love it when I _come_ along," he said with a sloppy leer. Hermione began to roll her eyes when a man standing on the pavement whistled to get her attention. She scowled at him, but he grinned back and gave her a good look up and down.

 **"** Hey pretty Sheila…" he said with an amused grin, his eyes darting pointedly to her hips, "feelin' a bit of a breeze are ya?"

Hermione followed his gaze to look down at herself and let out a mortified gasp when she took in the sight of her dress bunched up – the sticking charm long faded – and exposing her knickers. She let go of Draco at once and tugged frantically at the hem of the dress in an attempt to cover herself.

"Goddamn it!" she cursed when the garment wouldn't stay put.

Draco swayed where he stood next to her as he watched her struggle. "Do you want your wand!?"

Hermione shushed him loudly. "Stop shouting," she growled at him, her frustration mounting. Draco never stopped smiling as she continued to pull at her dress.

"Just put another sticking charm," he said, his voice still louder than necessary. He bent over to tug up the leg of his trousers.

"Stop it," Hermione scolded him, her eyes darting around anxiously to see who was within earshot. "No magic."

"But I've got your wand right here- aah!" He started to fall over as he lost his already shaky balance.

Hermione reflexively grabbed for him and caught him by the shoulder in time for him to recover his footing. He took the opportunity to wrap his arms around her again and hug tight.

"Gods, you are so perfect," he said.

Hermione huffed and pushed at his chest to force him off and then took up his hand and yanked at his arm all the harder to lead him away and continue her pursuit to find them a ride home, all the while holding the edge of her dress down over her bum.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Harry set down his newspaper and mug on his desk and then dropped unceremoniously into his chair with a dramatic, exhausted sigh.

"Rough night?" Neville Longbottom asked him, pausing on his way to his own desk. Harry let out another sigh and ran his hands through his wild hair as he nodded.

"I should start calling my house 'the Burrow'," he puffed out.

Neville grinned. "Molly giving you two _advice_ again?"

Harry gave him a look. "She and Gabrielle got into it over how to make a correct bouillabaisse and Ron drank all my good whiskey and got himself mauled by Hermione's damn cat again."

"What?" Neville laughed. Harry sat a little straighter in his chair and took a sip from his mug.

"Hermione's cat doesn't like him," he answered after he downed the swallow of coffee. "S'pose it doesn't help that he's always going off about Malfoy. I swear that fucking cat understands English."

Neville's grin flattened into a line. "Ron needs to get over it."

"Oh, there's _'nothing to get over'_ ," Harry replied in a poor imitation of Ron's voice. "He couldn't care less that she's _'fucking Malfoy's ferrety brains out'_. Just ask him. He'll be happy to tell you how much he ' _doesn't care'_."

He rolled his eyes sarcastically and Neville hummed in concern.

"How is Hermione?" he inquired. "Have you talked to her?"

Harry nodded. "She's having the time of her life, apparently. She and Malfoy have been doing all sorts of things out there."

"Good for them," Neville said sincerely. "I'm glad Malfoy's changed for the better."

"Yeah," Harry replied with a half shrug. "From what she says, he really seems to care for her. And he gets on well with her parents, which is even more surprising…"

"Speaking of parents and Malfoy," Neville whispered out the side of his mouth, inclining his head in the direction of Lucius Malfoy who had just entered the office. Harry looked up to see the man striding purposefully in their direction and groaned.

"What does this arsehole want now?" he muttered back as he stood and crossed his arms over his chest.

Neville's brow furrowed. "Probably wants to get his morning briefing."

"He's supposed to go to Robards for that," Harry hushed back as Lucius got closer. "And I don't know why we bother, anyway…he hasn't given us any new intel in six months."

Neville hummed in agreement and then set his face into a hard expression and crossed his own arms when Lucius came directly before Harry's desk and stopped.

"Potter…" Lucius began at once. Neville cleared his throat loudly in a way that sounded like a warning and Lucius cast a spiteful glare at him before looking back at Harry and lightly clearing his own throat.

" _Auror_ Potter," he said as though the words tasted bad. The corner of Neville's mouth tweaked upward, but he remained silent as Lucius went on. "I need to report a crime."

Harry looked entirely unconcerned. "I'm sure Head Auror Robards will be happy to hear it," he said.

Lucius shook his head. "This has nothing to do with my underworld connections. I've come to report that my son has been kidnapped and that I suspect him to be under the influence of one or more coercive spells."

Harry and Neville both stared at the man like he'd grown an extra head, but he continued.

"Draco has not responded to any offered communication, there was a million-galleon funds transfer from my vault to another vault that I did not authorize, and I believe that his recent marriage was the result of manipulation and illegal magic. Due to its seriousness, I expect immediate attention to this case."

Harry's look of shock was replaced by one of barely contained annoyance and anger. "Mr. Malfoy, your son has not been kidnapped. I know for a fact that he is a willing partner in his marriage and that he is alive and well and under no magical influence whatsoever. As for the money, you'll have to take that up with Gringotts."

Lucius's eyes took on a dangerous glint. "You know the whereabouts of my son?"

Harry's face gave nothing away as he replied. "Your son is of legal age and is a free citizen. If he's chosen not to inform you of where he is, then I cannot help you."

Lucius looked about to spit, his top lip curling back. "How can he tell me where he is when he's been bewitched!?"

Harry and Neville exchanged matching exasperated expressions and Lucius angrily banged the head of his walking stick on Harry's desk to force them to look back at him. "I know that you are in communication with Draco's kidnapper," he loudly accused, "and that you know where they are. If you refuse to accept my report and continue to collude with the criminal responsible for my son's duress, _Harry_ _Potter,_ know this…I will make certain that your misconduct is exposed and that neither your name nor _hers_ will be able to keep you from justice."

Harry glared back at him and then simply picked up a quill and parchment from his desk. He wrote something on it hastily and then slapped the parchment onto the giant stack of 'to-do later' on his desk. "Report accepted," he said tersely, throwing down the quill and then crossing his arms again.

Lucius glanced down at the parchment that read _"Malfoy submitted false kidnapping report"_ and then met his eyes again. "I _will_ pursue this to the full extent of the law," he threatened, looking between both Harry and Neville, "and beyond it, if necessary."

"You'll want to run along, Lucius," Harry said, his green eyes hard behind his glasses, "Robards will be expecting you. You wouldn't want to risk violating the terms of your probation…"

Lucius stood to his full height and after one last furious glower, turned on his heel to leave with his robes whipping behind him.

Harry and Neville both scowled. "What a dick," Harry said.

"You should tell Hermione," Neville said. Harry plopped back down into his chair and groaned.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

" _Go shorty! It's your birthday! We gonna party like it's your birthday!"_

Hermione cringed when she nearly buckled under Draco's weight as she tried to support him after exiting the taxi that had already driven away.

"Shhh!" she shushed loudly as he leaned heavily on her and continued his singing. "My parents are probably sleeping."

" _And you know we don't give a fuck it's not your birthday!"_ Draco hollered merrily, his voice echoing in the still night air.

"Draco," Hermione pleaded with a grunt as she stumbled in her heels with his ungainly movements. His arms came down and circled around her waist in an attempt to steady her.

"Oh, Granger," he purred, running his hands up and down her back. "Oh gods, do you feel good."

Hermione rolled her eyes irritably as she pushed his arms down again. "It's just the drugs."

Draco only rubbed against her harder. "Touch me, you fucking beautiful thing, you," he said.

"Draco…"

He slid his hands down to her arse and moaned. " _I like the way you do that right thurr, right thurr_!" he started singing again and grinding up on her right in the front garden.

Hermione grabbed at his hands and tried to push him toward the house again. "Draco!"

" _Right thurr, right thurr…"_

"Draco!"

He pushed his face into her neck and licked her. "I love you," he said, "fuck, I love you. You feel so good. Mmm mmm mmm…so goooood. I love this Muggle shit!"

Hermione turned from him and trudged toward the house with Draco still trying to dance behind her, his hands on her hips. "You're not going to feel very good in the morning," she forewarned. "You should not have had that much alcohol on top of the drugs."

"Less talking, more touching," Draco said, slipping his hands from her hips to her stomach and kneading his fingers into her suggestively. Hermione huffed and then cried out when Draco lost his footing and tumbled to the ground, taking her down with him.

"Are you okay?" he asked through a fit of giggles as he rolled her over on the ground. Hermione nodded from where she was pinned beneath him in the grass.

"Yeah," she said, hastily trying to pull at the hem of her dress that had popped up again with the fall. Draco growled and shook his head at her.

"Leave it," he said, running a hand up her leg toward her exposed knickers and lowering his face to her neck again. "Have you ever fucked outside before?" he slurred at her.

Hermione pushed at his chest and shimmied out from under him. "No," she said firmly, getting to her feet and tugging her dress down, "and I'm not going to tonight."

Draco dropped his forehead to the ground and groaned. "Please?" he whimpered, looking up with a huge smile still plastered to his face. Hermione looked down at him and shook her head.

"I doubt you'd even be able to get it up at this point," she said, bending down to give him a hand up.

"I can always get it up," he countered as he stood shakily with her help. "Wizard, remember?"

"On Muggle drugs, remember?" Hermione sassed right back, hand on her hip, eyebrow raised.

Draco swayed heavily on his feet as he looked her up and down. "You're so goddamn gorgeous," he said, his words slurring worse by the minute.

Hermione sighed and sidled back up to his side and tugged his arm over her shoulders to help brace him again for the walk up to the house.

"We need to get you into bed," she said matter-of-factly, "you are going to crash so hard."

Draco merely grinned and sniffed at her hair as they unsteadily made their way inside. "I love you," he said again, nuzzling his face into her curls. Hermione didn't respond as she fumbled with the front door and then tripped the both of them inside.

"Draco," she whispered urgently while trying to shuck him aside, "Draco, you need to move… I have to reset the alarm."

"No need."

Hermione's eyes widened and she snapped her head up at the sound of her father's voice. "Dad?"

Gene pushed up from where he sat in an arm chair. "Couldn't sleep," was all he said as he stepped up to the couple.

"'Sup, Gene!?" Draco yelled gleefully with a goofy smile. Gene's dark brows rose into his scalp and he turned an inquiring look to his daughter.

"Someone drugged him," Hermione explained apologetically.

Gene's expression turned serious as he again eyed Draco who had resumed his wobbly dancing. "Do we need to take him somewhere?"

Hermione shook her head with a wince as she kicked off her heels while Draco draped himself over her back again. "I don't think so," she said, grabbing at her husband's hands to coax him to come back around to her side, "he's just not a big drinker. And I know what they gave him. He just needs to ride this out."

"I wanna ride YOU out," Draco said, pushing his hips clumsily against her.

"He's going to have one hell of a hangover," Gene said, shaking his head at him. Hermione snatched Draco's hands into her own again when he started sliding them over her breasts and gave her father a rueful look.

"He said he wanted the full Muggle experience," she sighed. "We have coffee and painkillers in the house, right? Because I didn't bring any potions."

Gene nodded and Hermione tugged at Draco to make him follow her to the stairs. "Good… See you in the morning, daddy," she called over her shoulder.

"Are you sure you don't need any help with him?" he called back. It was at that moment that Draco's body decided to fully rebel. His legs gave out right as Hermione got him to the foot of the stairs and he doubled over to vomit soundly.

"Maybe a little help," Hermione said with a grimace as she moved behind Draco to avoid the mess and rub a hand over his back.

"How much did he drink?" Gene asked seriously. Hermione shrugged.

"I don't know exactly. He was sneaking drinks. But it was a lot, from what I could gather."

Gene shook his head in disappointment. "How long since he had the last drink?"

She shrugged again. "I…I don't know. Maybe… maybe thirty, forty minutes?"

"Oh, gods," Draco managed to mumble between heaves.

Gene swiftly came to their sides and placed a hand to the back of Draco's neck. "Go and wake your mother," he ordered Hermione. She nodded once and darted up the stairs.

"I don't – glagh!" Draco started to cry as he retched violently, his hands trembling against their grip on the bottom step. Gene kept his hold on him to keep him upright.

"You're okay," he said calmly to him. "You'll be alright."

"Oh, good heavens!" came Ellen's exclamation as the upstairs hall light clicked on to reveal her and Hermione rushing back to the stairs. "What happened?"

"He drank too much after someone drugged him," Hermione answered, her voice laced with fear and guilt as she came to her father's side.

"Hermione," Ellen scolded, "how could you be so irresponsible!?"

"Now's not the time, Els," Gene said firmly. Draco made another particularly forceful emesis.

"I… _don'_ like…this," he blubbered miserably, his words slurring worse as his eyes rolled.

"I know," Gene said soothingly. He looked up at Hermione. "Do you have a spell that determines blood alcohol concentration?"

Hermione shook her head regretfully. "No. That's really not something a wizard would normally need to worry over."

Ellen came the rest of the way down the stairs and sidestepped the growing puddle at the bottom to hurry over to the living room couch. "Well, you had better start worrying," she said severely, grabbing a blanket hanging over the back of the couch and bringing it over to drape onto Draco's shaking, hunched form.

"Hermione…" Draco called out desperately, blindly reaching a quaking hand out to his side. Hermione hurriedly reached forward and grabbed it.

"I'm here," she said as she also did a quick wandless spell to vanish the mess he'd made. He didn't say anything more and simply clutched at her as he continued to shiver and whimper.

"Ellen, ring for an ambulance," Gene ordered his wife with a concerned scowl.

"A wha?" Draco managed to ask as Ellen went for the phone.

"No, mum, wait," Hermione said in a slight panic. She looked at her father crouched beside Draco. "He can't go to a Muggle hospital. He won't understand anything they try to do."

Draco vomited again and Gene grunted irritably.

"He's experiencing alcohol poisoning," he said to his daughter impatiently. "He's got to go. Where's the nearest Magical hospital, then?"

Hermione made a regretful face. "Canberra."

Gene let out a scoff. "Is there a way to get him there within the next fifteen minutes?"

"I don't know," she answered honestly. "You're house isn't Floo connected and it takes two Apparition jumps to go that far. I don't think he could manage two safely that fast in this state," she said right as Draco puked again.

"Backwards," Gene muttered angrily. He shot Ellen a look and she nodded in silent agreement as she began dialing the phone.

"'mione?" Draco garbled. "Whazhappning?"

Hermione tried to give him a reassuring smile as she vanished the newest mess. "You've most likely got alcohol poisoning," she told him, helping her father then to sit him back on his butt. "You need to go to hospital. Mum's getting an ambulance for you. It's an emergency vehicle that will bring you there," she explained as calmly as she could.

Draco shivered terribly as he blinked at her. "A Mugglon?"

"Yes, a Muggle one" she replied, setting a hand to his knee, "the Magical hospital is too far without a Floo or Portkey."

"Don' let 'em do surgery," he begged pitifully. Gene muttered under his breath again and Hermione lightly rubbed Draco's leg.

"I promise they won't need to do surgery," she assured gently. "I won't ever leave your side, okay?"

He nodded reluctantly and Hermione squeezed his knee and smiled. "You'll be just f-"

Draco's eyes rolled back in his head as he lost consciousness.

.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry!**

 **And, I just want to be clear that I do not condone the use of illegal substances nor irresponsible alcohol consumption.**

 **Also...The songs Draco sings: In Da Club by 50 Cent and Right Thurr by Chingy. :)**


	28. A Hospital

Draco blinked open his eyes where he laid in the emergency room hospital bed and then squinted against the harsh glare of fluorescent lighting.

"What the fuck?" he said, the words coming out in a gravely whisper. He immediately winced and grabbed at his throat. The movement caused the IV line in his right hand to pull against the adhesive tape holding it in place and he bolted upright in the bed with a panicked gasp at the feel of it.

"What the fuck!?" he repeated, his eyes wide and fearful as he held up his hand to examine the tubing running the length of his arm. His breathing began to accelerate as he tentatively touched his left index finger to the point where the IV disappeared into his skin.

"Merlin, no…" came his hysterical plea as he then tore aside the sheet covering his lower half. "No, no, no…"

"Draco?"

Hermione's worried voice carried through the curtain that enclosed the area surrounding his bed just before she pushed it aside to see Draco frantically pulling at his clothes to reveal his abdomen.

"What did they do to me!?" Draco shouted as he examined and patted at his skin. "Did they do a surgery!?"

"No, Draco, no -" Hermione started to try and calm him, hurrying to his side.

But he cut her off. "What did they do? They put something in me!" he said, thrusting out his hand to show her the IV.

"Draco, calm down. It's just an intrave-"

"Get it out. I want it out!"

Hermione grabbed at his flailing hands. "Calm down!" she growled rather harshly at him.

Draco scowled at her. "Calm down? Easy for you to say, you haven't got strange Muggle shit sticking out of you, now have you! This is absurd! Muggle medicine is barbar-"

Hermione put her hand over his mouth. "Shh!" she hissed at him. "Stop shouting 'Muggle'. I've already broken about a dozen laws this morning."

Draco's forehead scrunched with a mixture of concern and annoyance, but he closed his mouth behind her fingers and sagged a little.

"Now, you're perfectly alright," she said, lowering her hand slowly. "Just relax."

"Well, pardon me for being upset," he whispered back sarcastically. "When's the last time you woke up to discover a medieval torture device attached to you?"

"It's just an intravenous line. Stop being dramatic. It's rehydrating you," she explained impatiently. Draco's eyes went wide again.

"Wait… _venous?_ As in veins? This is stuck in my veins!?"

Before Hermione could answer, Draco's face took on a terrified look again. "Please tell me this thing _does_ comes out…"

Hermione pulled up the visitor chair that was beside her and sat with an exhausted puff. "Of course it comes out," she said, sounding utterly defeated. "And they're going to take it out any minute. I was just out there speaking to your nurse about your discharge."

She leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes. Draco stared at her. She was still in her dress, but had donned a light jacket over it and a pair of jeans beneath it, and instead of heels, a pair of simple trainers adorned her feet. Her hair was a bushy mess and there were smudges of black mascara around her eyes as if she'd been crying and rubbing at her make-up.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

"I'm tired," she replied without moving. "I'm not used to staying up all night."

Draco looked back at the IV and then at his sterile surroundings again. "What time is it?"

"Nine AM."

"Shit…" he breathed out, running his left hand through his disheveled hair. "What…what even happened last night? How'd we get here?"

Hermione cracked open an eye to look at him. "Do you remember anything?"

He rubbed at his forehead and made a face. "I remember…I remember the club. And getting back to your parents'…and then… getting sick…Then you said something about not Apparating to someplace… It's all a bit blurry really."

"I'm sure," she sighed.

Draco moved his hand back to his neck. "Fuck, my throat kills. Is there any water or something?"

Hermione blinked dramatically to try and rouse herself and then reached into her jacket to retrieve her wand. She conjured a small cup of water and handed it to Draco.

"Your throat hurts because they had trouble intubating you in the ambulance," she said.

Draco took a small sip from the cup and winced slightly. "Intubating?"

She settled back in the chair again with her wand still in her hand. "You wouldn't stop vomiting," she explained tiredly. "They had to put a tube down your trachea so you could breathe."

A horrified expression took over Draco's face again. "They did what?"

Hermione simply looked straight ahead as if she'd fallen asleep with her eyes open.

"Uh…Hermi-?" Draco started, but stopped when the curtain to his makeshift room pulled aside to reveal a kind looking woman in plain scrubs. She smiled when she saw him sitting up.

"Feeling better, I see," she said, moving to his bedside as Hermione startled fully awake and sat straight in her chair.

"Wha- yes…yes, he seems much, much better," Hermione stammered. The nurse cast her a sympathetic glance and then focused a questioning look back on Draco. He stared at her dumbly for a moment and then startled when a loud, pained moaning sound carried through the curtain from the patient in the next bed. Draco looked green at the noise and then gingerly cleared his throat.

"I want to leave," he said.

The nurse chuckled, seemingly taking no notice of his apprehension, and patted his shoulder after taking his cup of water and setting it aside. "We'll get you home. We'd like to take a final set of vitals and then we can get this out and get you on your way," she said, motioning to the IV.

Draco shook his head. "You're not taking anything vital out of me!"

The nurse looked completely baffled by his outburst and looked to Hermione who had her wand pointed at the woman's face. The nurse's eyes nearly crossed as she focused on the wand point.

"What is going on here!?" the woman demanded to know.

"Just act normal and remove the IV," Hermione instructed firmly.

The nurse scowled.

"I'm sorry, but we really need to…" the nurse began to disagree before her eyes went slightly glossy and she shook her head rapidly. "That's fine, Mrs. Malfoy. I'll take it out now."

Draco cocked a brow at the woman and then glanced to Hermione to see her lowering the wand.

 _"What?"_ Hermione mouthed at him at his shocked looked. He didn't say anything but returned his attention to the nurse who had picked up his right arm and began carefully pulling off the tape from his hand.

"Is this going to hurt?" Draco asked as he watched her toss the tape into a bin and then open a drawer on a cart that was beside the wall near the head of the bed to retrieve a bit of gauze and more tape.

The nurse shook her head. "No, no…it'll be quick."

She opened the gauze and pressed it to the place where the IV fed into Draco's skin and then removed the tubing with a smooth tug. The moment Draco saw the bloody end that had been inside of his hand he gagged.

"All done, all done," the nurse reassured, rubbing his arm soothingly after quickly disposing of the tubing. "You're fine."

She put a fresh piece of tape over the gauze to keep it in place on the back of his hand and then smiled kindly at him again. "See? Good as new."

Draco took several deep breaths through his nose and gave her a jerked nod. "Can…can I go now," he ground out, pulling his taped hand protectively to his chest.

"Almost. We still have some paperwork that needs to…" -her eyes went glossy again- "…yes, Mr. Malfoy. You can go. Please contact us if you have any further concerns." She rather dazedly turned about then and pushed back out through the curtain.

"Get me the hell out of here," Draco said, turning to Hermione the moment the nurse was gone. Hermione nodded in agreement and quickly stowed her wand before rising to help Draco get out of the bed.

"Do you feel strong enough to walk out?" she asked him.

The man in the next bed over groaned again and Draco nodded irritably. "Yes, just get me out of here," he grunted, setting his feet to the floor while holding onto Hermione's offered arm.

She led him out into the main hall of the emergency room. Draco darted his eyes around nervously at everything as they made their way past more curtained rooms. The various beeping and dinging noises of monitors and the sound of a child sobbing behind one of the curtains had Draco clinging tightly to Hermione's side.

"How are we getting home?" he asked eagerly.

Hermione didn't need to answer as they exited through a set of double doors into a waiting room where Gene and Ellen were seated. The two pushed up from their chairs at once and hurried over when they saw Hermione and Draco appear.

"Oh, we were starting to wonder…" Ellen breathed in relief, reaching out her arms toward them. She lowered them quickly when she saw the way Draco was nervously pressing himself into Hermione's side. "Everything alright?" she asked carefully.

Before either could respond, the entrance doors opened and a frantic couple rushed in.

"We need help!" the woman cried out while assisting the man that was with her by holding a blood-soaked towel to the side of his face as they came in.

Draco began to shake and looked green at the sight and, noticing his growing distress, Ellen extended her arms out to him again.

"Come along, Draco, dear," she said kindly, wrapping an arm around his shoulder to gently pry him from Hermione's side and lead him away to distract him. "Let's get you home. Gene, go bring the car round."

Hermione let her mother steer Draco toward the exit behind Gene. "Mum…?" she said.

Ellen looked back at her over her shoulder. "Yes, love?"

"I, um…I _forgot_ something back by the nurses. I'll be right back," she said with a doleful yet meaning-filled look.

Her mother met her eyes and pursed her lips in understanding. "Be careful," was all she said before hugging Draco a bit more protectively and ushering him outside.

Hermione watched them go for a moment and then turned about to head back to the nursing area. Once there, she went straight to the main desk and discreetly pulled her wand. " _Accio_ Draco's file," she whispered.

A manila folder came zooming up from behind the desk and she snatched it up swiftly to tuck it into her jacket.

"Hey!" a voice called out at her. "Hey, you can't do that!"

Hermione swallowed hard but remained in place as the nurse that had just helped them came up to face her on the other side of the desk with an expression of extreme disapproval.

"You can't just take records," she began sternly, pointing at Hermione's jacket accusingly, "you will need to-"

Hermione pointed her wand with a reluctant grimace _. "Obliviate."_

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"To bed with you at once," Ellen said, guiding Draco through the front door when they arrived home. Draco offered no argument as she steered him to the stairs. Hermione went to follow them but Gene set his hand to her shoulder after shutting the front door.

"A moment," he said.

Hermione cast one last look at Draco and her mother ascending the stairs before closing her eyes in preparation for what her father had to say. When both Ellen and Draco had disappeared into the guest room upstairs, Gene squeezed Hermione's shoulder and she turned to face him.

"Are you alright?" he asked. She opened her eyes, though didn't meet his, and nodded.

"Yes," she answered weakly.

"You were responsible for him," he said, the words firm and disapproving.

Hermione kept her eyes downcast. "I know."

"I trust you realize just how dangerous your conduct was last night."

"Yes…"

Gene pursed his lips as he looked down at his daughter and then sighed and wrapped her in a hug. Hermione buried her face in his chest.

"Thank you for helping him," she muffled into his shirt.

"Grangers always take care of their family," he said. Hermione hugged him harder and he smiled. "Go now," he said, pulling back from her to motion towards the stairs, "get some rest."

Hermione nodded and dutifully began to head to the bedroom, but slowed to a stop and looked back at her father. "Daddy, I…I really am grateful for all you and Mum have done, but I think it's time for us to go back home," she said quietly.

Gene looked slightly taken aback by that. "I hope you don't feel like you have to go because of what happened," he said. Hermione smiled at him and shook her head.

"No…no, it's just…we've been away too long as it is and… What was it you used to say when I was younger? About trouble?"

Gene gave her a small smile. "Trouble is always eager to occupy the time of those with nothing to do?"

Hermione nodded. "That's it. It's time we faced the trouble already waiting for us instead of getting into more."

"If you think that's best," Gene nodded back.

"I think it is," she said.

"Well," he said, walking back up to her to give her another hug, "you will always have a home here, no matter what. If either of you ever need anything…"

Hermione embraced him back. "Thank you, daddy. I love you."

"I love you too, pumpkin. I love you too."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Hermione peeked through the space of the ajar guestroom door to see her mother seated beside Draco on the bed.

"A little bruising is normal," Ellen was explaining as she waded up the tape and gauze she'd peeled from Draco's hand. "You won't notice it at all in a few days' time."

Draco rubbed gingerly at the back of his hand. "Thank you," he said quietly. "I, uh…I'm sorry that I…I'm sorry about…about last night…"

He trailed off, looking uncomfortable and Ellen rubbed a hand to his shoulder. "Last night's events provided for quite the learning experience for you, hmm?"

He nodded. "One I don't care to repeat," he replied surely. She smiled at that.

"So long as you learned your lesson then you have nothing to be sorry about. Now, to bed with you. You need to rest," she said as a command as she stood.

Hermione entered the room then and both her mother and Draco looked up at her. Ellen pursed her lips lightly at the sight of Hermione's somber expression and moved to stand beside her. "You get some rest as well," she said to her, giving her arm a light squeeze.

Hermione nodded and Ellen released her to disappear out the door. Hermione closed it behind her and then slowly turned about to see Draco inspecting his hand.

"Does it hurt?" she asked him. He shook his head without looking up.

"Not really."

Silence fell then as Hermione slipped off her jacket and removed Draco's medical file from within it. She pulled her wand from her back pocket and levitated both over to rest atop a dresser before she began to undo her jeans.

"How do you feel?" she asked Draco, floating off her shed jeans while simultaneously summoning one of his t-shirts.

Draco laid back and shut his eyes. "Like hell," he groaned and flopped his arm over his face. "Put Muggle drugs on the list of things NOT to do…Muggle hospital too. That place was horrifying."

Hermione made quick work of removing her dress and donning the comfortable cotton T before finally going to the bed. "And night clubs?"

"No…the club was brilliant. This hang-over though," he groaned loudly again, "not so much. Why did those drinks have to be so damn delicious?"

"I imagine," she began as she sat beside him on the mattress, "your senses were enhanced as a result of the increased neurotransmitter activity caused by the drug you ingested."

Draco rolled toward her and wrapped an arm around her waist before rolling back to pull her back to lie with him. "You and your big words," he said as he pulled her flush against himself and snuggled into her back. "Sleep time, _Mrs. Malfoy_."

Hermione made a small snort as she summoned a blanket to cover them. "Don't get used to calling me that. I only let the nurse call me that because I didn't have the energy to correct her," she said, setting her wand on the nightstand and tugging at the blanket to get more comfortable.

"One night of drunken stupidity is all it takes for you to decide you no longer want my name…I see how it is," Draco teased, giving her a playful pinch.

Hermione gave a tired giggle and pinched his arm back. "Don't be silly." She sighed and turned in his hold to face him. "I was the one who was stupid last night," she said quietly.

Draco snorted. "You couldn't be stupid if you tried."

"I'm serious, Draco. What if I'd been wrong about the drug you were given? What if you'd reacted badly? Or your magic flared involuntarily as a result? It was reckless and I put you in danger and you suffered as a result. I'm so, so sorry."

Draco cracked open one very sleepy, bloodshot eye to look at her. "Stop being all Gryffindor and go to sleep, Princess," he said.

"But-"

"Sleep," he grunted. Hermione let out a quiet harrumph but closed her eyes and cozied into his hold.

Her mobile phone started ringing.

"Why does that fucking thing always turn on when I'm trying to sleep?" Draco grumbled. Hermione moaned in displeasure at the sound as well, but began to get up. Draco held on tight to prevent her from rising. "Ignore it. Sleep."

"But it might be Harry. What if Ginny's gone into labor?" Hermione argued, pushing lightly against him. He only held on to her tighter.

"Then she'll have a baby. You can call her back later and congratulate her," he said, never opening his eyes.

Hermione frowned but didn't put up much resistance in her exhausted state. She waved her hand to place a simple silencing spell on the phone and then turned in Draco's arms to be on her back. She laid quiet for a long while, staring blankly up at the ceiling.

"We're going home tomorrow," she announced suddenly.

Only a quiet snore answered her and she glanced over to see Draco fast asleep. Hermione studied his lax features and smiled at the tiny line of saliva escaping his slightly open mouth. "You scared the hell out of me last night you know," she whispered at him.

Draco only kept on snoring. Hermione carefully lifted her hand and smoothed several of his longer strands of hair off his forehead before setting her palm to the side of his face.

"I thought I knew fear," she said, her thumb moving affectionately back and forth across his cheek. "All of those years fighting Voldemort, hiding, wondering…" she paused as her eyes started to tear. "None of it compares, Draco. I've never been more scared in my whole life than I was while watching them work on you in the back of that ambulance."

Draco unconsciously tightened his embrace around her and Hermione's eyelids shuttered closed as she savored the feeling.

"Do you remember telling me that you love me last night?" she asked, opening her eyes again to gaze at him. Draco made a quiet hmm noise in his sleep and Hermione's bottom lip trembled slightly as she smiled again.

"I love you too," she hushed.

Draco shifted and snuffled before groggily mumbling, "D'you say somethin'?"

Hermione lowered her hand. "No," she said, "go back to sleep."

He hummed contentedly and followed her command. She watched him for another long moment and then let her own eyes fall shut.

.

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 **A/N: I'm back! And I love you all!**


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